1. (1) Whenever a contract exists between a health maintenance organization and a provider and the organization fails to meet its obligations to pay fees for services already rendered to a subscriber, the health maintenance organization shall be liable for such fee or fees rather than the subscriber; and the contract shall so state.
2. (2) No subscriber of an HMO shall be liable to any provider of health care services for any services covered by the HMO.
3. (3) No provider of services or any representative of such provider shall collect or attempt to collect from an HMO subscriber any money for services covered by an HMO and no provider or representative of such provider may maintain any action at law against a subscriber of an HMO to collect money owed to such provider by an HMO.
4. (4) Every contract between an HMO and a provider of health care services shall be in writing and shall contain a provision that the subscriber shall not be liable to the provider for any services covered by the subscriber's contract with the HMO.
5. (5) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to apply to the amount of any deductible or copayment which is not covered by the contract of the HMO.

6. (6) (a) For all provider contracts executed after October 1, 1991, and within 180 days after October 1, 1991, for contracts in existence as of October 1, 1991:

   1. The contracts must provide that the provider shall provide 60 days' advance written notice to the health maintenance organization and the department before canceling the contract with the health maintenance organization for any reason; and

   2. The contract must also provide that nonpayment for goods or services rendered by the provider to the health maintenance organization shall not be a valid reason for avoiding the 60-day advance notice of cancellation.

7. (b) For all provider contracts executed after October 1, 1996, and within 180 days after October 1, 1996, for contracts in existence as of October 1, 1996, the contracts must provide that the health maintenance organization will provide 60 days' advance written notice to the provider and the department before canceling, without cause, the contract with the provider, except in a case in which a patient's health is subject to imminent danger or a physician's ability to practice medicine is effectively impaired by an action by the Board of Medicine or other governmental agency.
8. (7) Upon receipt by the health maintenance organization of a 60-day cancellation notice, the health maintenance organization may, if requested by the provider, terminate the contract in less than 60 days if the health maintenance organization is not financially impaired or insolvent.

9. (8) A contract between a health maintenance organization and a provider of health care services shall not contain any provision restricting the provider's ability to communicate information to the provider's patient regarding medical care or treatment options for the patient when the provider deems knowledge of such information by the patient to be in the best interest of the health of the patient.

   1. (a) The health care provider from entering into a commercial contract with any other health maintenance organization; or

   2. (b) The health maintenance organization from entering into a commercial contract with any other health care provider.

      ²(10) A health maintenance organization or health care provider may not terminate a contract with a health care provider or health maintenance organization unless the party terminating the contract provides the terminated party with a written reason for the contract termination, which may include termination for business reasons of the terminating party. The reason provided in the notice required in this section or any other information relating to the reason for termination does not create any new administrative or civil action and may not be used as substantive evidence in any such action, but may be used for impeachment purposes. As used in this subsection, the term "health care provider" means a physician licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, or chapter 461, or a dentist licensed under chapter 466.

      ¹Note.--Section 10, ch. 99-275, provides that "[t]his act shall take effect July 1, 1999, and shall apply to all contracts renewed or entered into on or after that date."

      ²Note.--Section 6, ch. 99-264, provides that "[t]his act shall take effect [June 8, 1999] and shall apply only to contracts entered into after the effective date."

   ¹(9) A contract between a health maintenance organization and a provider of health care services may not contain any provision that in any way prohibits or restricts:

History.--ss. 795, 809(1st), ch. 82-243; s. 12, ch. 83-198; s. 17, ch. 88-388; ss. 125, 187, 188, ch. 91-108; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 5, ch. 96-223; s. 2, ch. 97-159; s. 2, ch. 99-264; s. 4, ch. 99-275.