FLORIDA GOV. RICK SCOTT TO NO-FAULT SWINDLERS: YOU’RE NOT WELCOME
Signs anti-fraud reforms that target crooked clinics and providers
WASHINGTON, May 4, 2012 – Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s signing of tough no-fault fraud reforms today is a welcome next step toward thwarting rampant bogus injury claims that are driving up auto premiums in the state, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.
“It’s a sunnier day for Florida drivers. Crooked clinics and crash rings will have less room to maneuver. The reforms could drive more swindlers out of the state by steadily eroding the illicit profits that cheaters make from no-fault crime in the state,” said Dennis Jay, the Coalition’s executive director.
The anti-fraud measures are the centerpiece of a larger no-fault reform package (HB 119). They’re the largest and potentially most-effective fraud reforms any state has passed in several years, Jay said. The measures lean especially hard on shady clinics.
Among the fraud provisions, the new law:
- Requires clinics to be licensed to treat auto-crash passengers;
- Makes it a crime to run a clinic without a license;
- Allows insurers 90 days to investigate claims (up from 30);
- Allows insurers to require examinations under oath; and
- Creates an agency under the state CFO to accept grants and gifts to help fund investigations and prosecutions
Convicted doctors and other medical providers also could lose their licenses for up to five years, and be barred from doing no-fault business in the state for up to 10 years.
“Taking away providers’ ability to practice goes directly to their wallets. Their income and careers will dry up, costing them their mansions and fancy cars. That’s a potentially strong deterrent,” Jay continued.
Chiro fees also are capped, which should be yet another deterrent, Jay added.
Florida is America’s epicenter of no-fault auto fraud. Crooked clinics and crash gangs lodging bogus injury claims have spread widely through urban areas around the state. Reforms were urgently needed to counter a crime trend that has made Florida auto premiums among the highest in the nation, Jay said.
Most of the new anti-fraud measures stemmed from proposals last year by the Sunshine Alliance to Erase Fraud. The Coalition co-founded the group, which mounted a campaign to pass anti-fraud reforms. The brief 60-day session last year ended before the package could pass. But the awareness that the campaign built among legislators and consumers helped clear the way for passage this year, Jay said.
The Coalition is encouraging organizations representing insurers, consumers and government to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the new law. The goal is to determine its impact on crime and auto rates.
“The reforms are a potentially effective next step, but only a next step. Much more work needs to be done before Florida finally turns the corner on this crime,” Jay said.
CONTACT:
Howard Goldblatt, director of government affairs
202-393-7332; howard@InsuranceFraud.org
