Florida Senate - 2025                                    SB 1362
       
       
        
       By Senator Garcia
       
       
       
       
       
       36-01168A-25                                          20251362__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to claims for adverse reactions to
    3         vaccines and drugs under the Medicare, Medicaid, and
    4         medically needy programs; providing a short title;
    5         creating s. 409.9043, F.S.; requiring the Agency for
    6         Health Care Administration to expedite the review and
    7         payment process for claims related to adverse
    8         reactions to vaccines, immunizing agents, and
    9         emergency countermeasure drugs under the Medicare,
   10         Medicaid, and Medicaid medically needy programs;
   11         requiring the agency to publish certain information on
   12         its website; requiring the agency to seek federal
   13         approval for a specified purpose under certain
   14         circumstances and to adopt rules; providing an
   15         effective date.
   16          
   17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   18  
   19         Section 1. This act may be cited as “Cody’s Law: Florida No
   20  Vaccine-Injured Patient Left Behind.”
   21         Section 2. Section 409.9043, Florida Statutes, is created
   22  to read:
   23         409.9043 Claims for adverse reactions to vaccines,
   24  immunizing agents, and emergency countermeasure drugs under the
   25  Medicare, Medicaid, and medically needy programs.—
   26         (1) The Agency for Health Care Administration shall, under
   27  the Medicare program, the Medicaid program, and the Medicaid
   28  medically needy program, expedite the review and payment process
   29  for a claim in which the physician has diagnosed a severe,
   30  debilitating, life-threatening, or lifelong injury caused by the
   31  administration of a vaccine or other immunizing agent or an
   32  adverse reaction to an emergency countermeasure drug if the
   33  vaccine, immunizing agent, or emergency countermeasure drug is
   34  recommended by the United States Food and Drug Administration or
   35  the Department of Health of this state.
   36         (2)(a) The agency shall publish on its website:
   37         1. A list of medical conditions related to a vaccine,
   38  immunizing agent, or emergency countermeasure drug for the
   39  expedited claims described in subsection (1).
   40         2. A list of potential adverse reactions found in the
   41  manufacturer’s product insert of a vaccine, immunizing agent, or
   42  emergency countermeasure drug which are deemed critical, severe,
   43  or temporarily or permanently disabling by the agency or the
   44  physicians who make the diagnoses in the claims described in
   45  subsection (1).
   46         3. Any new medical condition related to a vaccine,
   47  immunizing agent, or emergency countermeasure drug which arises.
   48         4. Any future vaccine, immunizing agent, or emergency
   49  countermeasure drug or treatment deemed appropriate by the
   50  agency or by the physicians who make the diagnoses in the claims
   51  described in subsection (1).
   52         (b) The agency shall also inform its website visitors of
   53  the content of this section, including the requirements under
   54  subsection (1), so that physicians or other health care
   55  providers may best serve patients who have urgent medical needs
   56  as a result of an injury caused by the administration of a
   57  vaccine or other immunizing agent or an adverse reaction to an
   58  emergency countermeasure drug.
   59         (3) The agency shall seek federal approval, if necessary,
   60  to implement this section and shall adopt rules to administer
   61  this section.
   62         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.