Fire Chiefs' Association Asks Governor to Call Special Session to Address No-Fault Motor Vehicle Insurance
FORT MYERS, Fla., July 25 -- The Florida Fire Chiefs' Association at their annual meeting today passed a resolution urging Governor Crist to call a special session to address no-fault auto insurance, including mandatory Personal Injury Protection (PIP). No-fault is scheduled to sunset October 1 without legislative action.
Crist has said that he believes PIP is an important medical coverage for motorists, and that he is likely to call a special session of the Florida Legislature to deal with the issue.
In its resolution the group, comprising more than 2,370 fire chiefs and executive fire officers throughout the state, thanked the Governor for his efforts to protect Florida drivers and their passengers and expressed concern that fire and EMS departments could lose millions of dollars in emergency transport reimbursements if PIP is allowed to die.
The fire chiefs also said they fear that first responders will be required to spend more time testifying in court, instead of on the job, as lawyers try to determine who is at fault in cases where emergency services were provided. The loss of PIP is expected to generate a new wave of costly and time- consuming litigation because fault will have to be established in every accident before payments can be made for medical treatment.
The association estimates that public sector firefighters and EMS personnel provide 80 percent of all emergency medical services in Florida and transport most of the auto crash victims to emergency rooms and trauma centers.
In addition to asking the governor to take up the issue in a special session, the fire chiefs are encouraging lawmakers to:
Extend PIP for now so that it does not expire without alternative medical coverage or; Replace PIP with alternative mandatory coverage that includes EMS transport services for drivers and passengers
"It is our view that the loss of PIP will hurt all Floridians - not just accident victims - through increased health and auto insurance costs and a loss of access to healthcare services for those least able to pay, " said Rick Talbert, FFCA President.
The resolution noted that one in four Floridians under the age of 65 have no health insurance coverage, and that PIP is the only source of medical coverage available to pay for transporting crash victims to hospitals. The resolution also noted that 40 percent of auto accident victims treated in hospital emergency rooms and trauma centers have no health insurance to pay for their treatment other than PIP and that a majority of these patients are being transported by public sector EMS providers.
The fire chiefs also made it clear that Florida's healthcare delivery system, both pre-hospital and hospital will be hurt by the loss of PIP and that all Floridians, not just accident victims, will suffer because: Medical costs now covered by PIP will be transferred to health insurers and HMOs, increasing the cost of employer-sponsored insurance and making it more costly for employers to offer health insurance to employees;
Citizens ultimately will see no real savings in their motor vehicle insurance premiums if PIP is eliminated. Instead, drivers will be forced to pay for Bodily Injury Liability and Uninsured Motorist coverage.
Note: A copy of the resolution is attached.
The Florida Fire Chief's Association is the state's leading management education organization for fire and emergency services professionals. Its members specialize in promoting and supporting excellence in fire and emergency services management. The association has 11 sections providing educational resources for fire service leaders.
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION INSURANCE
WHEREAS, the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association membership met at their annual meeting in Ft. Myers, Florida on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 to discuss matters of importance to the citizens of Florida and the fire service executive leadership and expressed their concerns over the October 1, 2007 sunset of Florida's no-fault motor vehicle insurance law, including mandatory Personal Injury Protection (PIP) for motorists;
WHEREAS, since 1958, the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association has prided itself on supporting measures that protect the life and safety of the citizens of Florida and now raise their concern over the potential sunset of the 36- year-old PIP program which has provided accident victims with access to crucial healthcare services and timely insurance coverage for injuries;
WHEREAS, the public sector fire/EMS departments provide 80% of the EMS services in our state and transport the vast majority of the motor vehicle crash victims and trauma patients in Florida;
WHEREAS, Florida's fire/EMS departments could lose millions of dollars in transport reimbursements if PIP is allowed to sunset and the four million Floridians who have no other motor vehicle insurance coverage besides PIP will potentially add further stress to local governments if they are unable to recover transport fees because these drivers no longer carry any coverage;
WHEREAS, in a state where one in four Floridians under 65 have no health coverage, PIP is the only source of medical coverage available to pay for transporting motor vehicle accident victims to area hospitals for life-saving healthcare services;
WHEREAS, 40 percent of all patients treated for motor vehicle accidents in Florida's hospital emergency rooms and trauma centers have no health insurance coverage to pay for treatments other than PIP, and may face personal financial disaster without it and similarly, the majority of these patients are being transported by public sector EMS providers;
WHEREAS, without PIP, first responders may find themselves caught up in providing testimony in legal proceedings seeking to determine fault in cases where fire/EMS services were provided, thus taking life-saving personnel out of their field of service where they are needed most to meet the safety and security needs of their community;
WHEREAS, Florida's healthcare delivery system, both pre-hospital and hospital will be hurt by the loss of PIP and thus so will all Floridians -- not just accident victims -- because:
-- Medical costs now covered by PIP will be transferred to health insurers
and HMOs, increasing the cost of employer-sponsored insurance and
making it more costly for employers to offer health insurance to their
employees;
-- Fault must be determined in virtually every case and therefore accident
victims would have to await results of time-consuming, expensive
litigation before receiving compensation to pay for medical services or
property damage repairs; and
-- Citizens will ultimately see no real savings in their motor vehicle
insurance premiums by eliminating PIP as drivers will have to pay more
for Bodily Injury Liability (BI) and Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the membership of the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association extends its heartfelt appreciation for the comments in support of a special session on PIP by Governor Charlie Crist. The membership respectfully requests the Governor to address the sunset of PIP by:
1. Calling the Florida legislature back into a special session to address
no-fault motor vehicle insurance/PIP before its scheduled sunset;
2. Encouraging the Legislature to either Extend PIP for now so that it
doesn't expire without alternative coverage in place;
3. Replace PIP with alternative mandatory medical coverage that includes
fire/EMS response and/or transport services for drivers and passengers.
The Florida Fire Chief's Association is Florida's leading management education organization for fire and emergency services professionals and the professional association that specializes in promoting and supporting excellence in fire and emergency services management. As a collective body of executive leaders within the fire service and as a representatives of over 2,370 members throughout Florida, we stand ready to support Governor Crist in his efforts to protect the health and welfare of all Floridians by leading the effort to save PIP coverage.
Approved July 25, 2007 Ft. Myers, Florida Rick Talbert, FFCA President Fire Chief South Walton Fire District July 25, 2007 The Honorable Charlie Crist The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida Dear Governor Crist, Please accept this resolution of the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association as a show of support and appreciation for your efforts to protect the health and welfare of Floridians and to convene a special session to save No- Fault Motor Vehicle Insurance, including PIP, before its scheduled sunset on October 1. This resolution was unanimously approved July 25 in Fort Myers at our organization's annual meeting. Our association comprises 2,370 fire and emergency medical services executives from throughout the state who firmly believe that it is of vital importance to the health and welfare of all Floridians -- not just those involved in auto accidents -- that PIP either be extended and further studied, or replaced by alternative mandatory medical coverage that includes EMS transport services for injured drivers and passengers. It is our view that the loss of PIP will hurt all Floridians -- not just accident victims -- through increased health and auto insurance costs and a loss of access to healthcare services for those least able to pay. Under your leadership, we believe this issue can be resolved to the benefit of all of Florida's citizens. Yours in Fire Service Richard G. Talbert, President Fire Chief South Walton Fire District