Florida SB 926: Florida Virtual School

Bill Text

926 
Attorney Fees and Costs for Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Protection Benefits 
2025-12-16T10:15:55Z 
Providing that prevailing parties in suits by certain health care providers for overdue medical benefits under motor vehicle personal injury protection policies are entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 926 

 By Senator Martin 

 33-01222-26 2026926__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to attorney fees and costs for motor 
 3 vehicle personal injury protection benefits; amending 
 4 s. 627.736, F.S.; providing that prevailing parties in 
 5 suits by certain health care providers for overdue 
 6 medical benefits under motor vehicle personal injury 
 7 protection policies are entitled to reasonable 
 8 attorney fees and costs; providing an effective date. 
 9 
 10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 11 
 12 Section 1. Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (10) of 
 13 section 627.736, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (a) of 
 14 subsection (1) of that section is republished, to read: 
 15 627.736 Required personal injury protection benefits; 
 16 exclusions; priority; claims.— 
 17 (1) REQUIRED BENEFITS.—An insurance policy complying with 
 18 the security requirements of s. 627.733 must provide personal 
 19 injury protection to the named insured, relatives residing in 
 20 the same household unless excluded under s. 627.747, persons 
 21 operating the insured motor vehicle, passengers in the motor 
 22 vehicle, and other persons struck by the motor vehicle and 
 23 suffering bodily injury while not an occupant of a self 
 24 propelled vehicle, subject to subsection (2) and paragraph 
 25 (4)(e), to a limit of $10,000 in medical and disability benefits 
 26 and $5,000 in death benefits resulting from bodily injury, 
 27 sickness, disease, or death arising out of the ownership, 
 28 maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle as follows: 
 29 (a) Medical benefits.—Eighty percent of all reasonable 
 30 expenses for medically necessary medical, surgical, X-ray, 
 31 dental, and rehabilitative services, including prosthetic 
 32 devices and medically necessary ambulance, hospital, and nursing 
 33 services if the individual receives initial services and care 
 34 pursuant to subparagraph 1. within 14 days after the motor 
 35 vehicle accident. The medical benefits provide reimbursement 
 36 only for: 
 37 1. Initial services and care that are lawfully provided, 
 38 supervised, ordered, or prescribed by a physician licensed under 
 39 chapter 458 or chapter 459, a dentist licensed under chapter 
 40 466, a chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460, or an 
 41 advanced practice registered nurse registered under s. 464.0123 
 42 or that are provided in a hospital or in a facility that owns, 
 43 or is wholly owned by, a hospital. Initial services and care may 
 44 also be provided by a person or entity licensed under part III 
 45 of chapter 401 which provides emergency transportation and 
 46 treatment. 
 47 2. Upon referral by a provider described in subparagraph 
 48 1., followup services and care consistent with the underlying 
 49 medical diagnosis rendered pursuant to subparagraph 1. which may 
 50 be provided, supervised, ordered, or prescribed only by a 
 51 physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, a 
 52 chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460, a dentist 
 53 licensed under chapter 466, or an advanced practice registered 
 54 nurse registered under s. 464.0123, or, to the extent permitted 
 55 by applicable law and under the supervision of such physician, 
 56 osteopathic physician, chiropractic physician, or dentist, by a 
 57 physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 or 
 58 an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under chapter 
 59 464. Followup services and care may also be provided by the 
 60 following persons or entities: 
 61 a. A hospital or ambulatory surgical center licensed under 
 62 chapter 395. 
 63 b. An entity wholly owned by one or more physicians 
 64 licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, chiropractic 
 65 physicians licensed under chapter 460, advanced practice 
 66 registered nurses registered under s. 464.0123, or dentists 
 67 licensed under chapter 466 or by such practitioners and the 
 68 spouse, parent, child, or sibling of such practitioners. 
 69 c. An entity that owns or is wholly owned, directly or 
 70 indirectly, by a hospital or hospitals. 
 71 d. A physical therapist licensed under chapter 486, based 
 72 upon a referral by a provider described in this subparagraph. 
 73 e. A health care clinic licensed under part X of chapter 
 74 400 which is accredited by an accrediting organization whose 
 75 standards incorporate comparable regulations required by this 
 76 state, or 
 77 (I) Has a medical director licensed under chapter 458, 
 78 chapter 459, or chapter 4