CS/CS/HB 1243 Summary

• Requires hospitals, hospital systems, and group practices to notify the Florida Attorney General at least 90 days before transactions involving material changes to group practices of four or more physicians or affiliations between hospitals.

• Notice must include details such as physician names/licenses/specialties, business entities involved, service locations, services provided, primary service areas, and prior material changes in the preceding 5 years.

• Persons filing merger or acquisition information with the Federal Trade Commission or U.S. Department of Justice under Hart-Scott-Rodino Act must provide written notice to the Attorney General and comply with civil investigative demands.

• Establishes civil penalty of up to $500,000 for non-compliance, with penalties deposited in the Legal Affairs Revolving Trust Fund for antitrust law enforcement.

• Makes restrictive covenants void and unenforceable for physicians in counties where one entity controls all physicians in a particular specialty, lasting 3 years after a second competing entity enters that market; appropriates $1.3 million and authorizes 12 positions to implement the law effective July 1, 2019.