Florida's Fire Chiefs want PIP to stick around

The Buzz reports that the Florida Association of Fire Chiefs has issued a statement (.pdf document) urging Governor Crist to call the legislature back for a special session on PIP. Fire/EMS companies stand to lose millions in un-reimbursed EMS calls if PIP sunsets on October 1st, so it's not surprising that they want it to stay on the books.

As more and more folks in the health-care field wake up to the fact that the sunset of PIP will cost them money, you can bet that the drum beat for a special session will continue to get louder. It remains to be seen how the insurance industry plays their cards to oppose this growing call for a special session. Count on them starting a big public-relations push soon about how the death of PIP will lower insurance costs.

Special PIP-tastic session?

The Buzz reports that

Gov. Charlie Crist is "very close" to calling a special session to address the Oct. 1 disappearance of the state's no-fault automobile insurance coverage.

It's easy to see who's ox will be gored by the sunsetting of PIP. Looking at the (unbelievably weak, home-made, amateur looking) Save PIP website, the list of supporters includes the Florida Medial Association, Independent Healthcare Providers, Florida Chiropractic Association, Florida Orthopedic Society, Florida Consumer Action Network, National Center for Policy Analysis, and the Palm Beach Medical Society. (I mean, really, with all that money that is the BEST they could do with their website?).

PIP-awareness is growing

I wrote about the sunsetting of PIP a few days ago. Chris Chiari, a Democratic candidate for Florida House district 91, has an interesting podcast (.mp3 format) about this issue on his website. I like that he takes a stand on the issue, even though he won't be in the legislature (if he wins) in time to prevent PIP from going away.

This issue is one that largely slipped under the radar of Florida voters last fall, but will be a growing issue over the next few months as more people become aware that PIP is going away.

Is PIP gone for good?

When Jeb Bush vetoed an attempted revision of the Florida PIP statute last year, it started a clock ticking which will run down on October 1, 2007. If nothing else is done, the no-fault insurance system that has been in place for the last 36 years in Florida will go the way of the dodo after that date. Insurance carriers say this will cause auto insurance rates to go down. Hospitals argue that this will simply shift the cost of care to them. It looks like they're both right.

Tom Zucco wrote a good piece on the issue recently in the St. Petersburg Times.

There are also some rumors being reported that the legislature might come back for yet another special session in September to consider the PIP issue again. If Colorado's experience with allowing PIP to sunset is any indicator of what Florida faces, I would expect a pretty big battle between insurance and the healthcare industry on this issue. Expect the healthcare lobby in Tallahassee to put a lot of pressure on lawmakers to bring up this issue once more before October 1st.