As Florida’s 2026 state legislative session reaches the halfway point, there are several health care bills up for discussion. While every session seems to have its own theme, common issues repeat themselves year after year. Here are some of the top bills involving health care in the Florida Legislature today.
AI regulation in insurance
Artificial intelligence (AI) and the concern for its regulation continues to be a hot topic. Mandatory Human Reviews of Insurance Claim Denials (HB 527, SB 202) would require that a person be the final decision maker on the denial of insurance claims, not an automated system. This bill would outlaw the use of AI as the sole decision maker in the denial of health insurance claims, a win for patients.
Transparency in nursing titles
As more professions move toward terminal doctorate degrees, there is growing confusion among patients about which members of their health care team are physicians. Professional Use of Nursing Titles (HB 237, SB 36) would require doctorate-level nursing graduates to specify that they are Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNPs), and not medical doctors (MDs, DOs). This bill is a win for transparency in the health care system and ensuring patients know the credentials of those on their care team.
Parental rights and minor consent
Parental Rights (HB 173, SB 166) would remove current exceptions to parental consent for contraceptive and sexually transmitted disease (STD) treatment of minors. While proponents argue this gives parents necessary autonomy over their children, teenagers may choose to delay or avoid seeking care for sensitive conditions or concerns. This could lead to increased teen pregnancy rates, increased STD rates, and subsequently increased infertility rates in the future. These consequences would lead to increased system-level costs for otherwise preventable complications as adolescent patients’ access to care is diminished.
Scope of practice expansion
Every year, a slew of scope expansion bills are filed and debated. This year is no different. Psychiatric APRN Autonomous Practice (HB 301, SB 138) and CRNA Autonomous Practice (HB 1371, SB 148) have movement on the House side, but not for their Senate companions. The “Big Beautiful Healthcare Frontier Act” (HB 693) more broadly would remove primary care restrictions on autonomous nursing practice. These bills would allow nurse practitioners and nurse anesthetists to practice independently without the supervision of physicians. Autonomous practice for NPs in Florida was allowed in primary care only after the 2020 legislative session, with proponents arguing this would fix the rural health care access issues; however, that has not panned out. While an important part of the health care system, nurse practitioners undergo only a small fraction of the clinical training and education that physicians do. Scope expansion does not improve access to quality care; instead, it worsens bedside nursing and physician shortages and creates a two-tiered health system where quality falls second to profits and availability.
Medical negligence and damages
Lastly, Recovery of Damages for Medical Negligence Resulting in Death (HB 6003, SB 1700) is back after passing both the Senate and House in 2025 before being vetoed by Governor DeSantis. While there is movement on the House side, this bill has not seen movement on the Senate side and is unlikely to make its way back to the governor. This bill would increase the frequency of “nuclear verdicts” (large non-economic damages payouts) and further strain the already-too-expensive medical malpractice insurance market, leading to higher costs for the health care system as a whole.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely his and do not represent those of any employer.
Del Carter is a family medicine resident.
