Healthcare (Public Health)

Agency for Persons with Disabilities; Requiring level 2 employment screening for all employees of residential facilities and adult day training programs; providing background screening requirements for such employees; requiring the agency to solicit input and conduct publicly noticed hearings for a specified purpose in each service region; requiring the agency to use certain information to identify certain core competencies and performance metrics and make recommendations for standardizing assessments, etc.

Health Care; Defines "treat," "treated," & "treatment"; authorizes individual to refuse examination, testing, or treatment for specified reasons; prohibits discrimination against patient based on patient's vaccination status; requires licensed health care practitioners to inform parent or legal guardian of minor child of risks, benefits, safety, & efficacy of specified vaccines, obtain signature from parent or legal guardian before administration of vaccine, & provide parent or legal guardian with option of alternative vaccination schedule; authorizes pharmacist to provide ivermectin without prescription; requires pharmacist to provide specified information to patient; provides pharmacists with immunity from civil & criminal liability & disciplinary action; authorizes Board of Pharmacy to adopt rules; authorizes parent to exempt their child from health examination or from administration of immunizing agents based on conscience grounds; requires DOH to make publicly available, by posting on its Internet website, exemption form for parents & legal guardians.

SB 626 updates Florida's school immunization requirements by allowing the Department of Health to add new communicable diseases to the mandatory list through rulemaking, instead of pre-listing them. It directly affects all Florida students entering public or private schools, as it modifies which diseases require vaccination for attendance. The bill keeps existing requirements for diseases like polio, measles, mumps, and chickenpox but gives the Department authority to expand the list based on current health needs. The changes will take effect July 1, 2026, and immunizations must remain free at county health departments. The bill does not add new diseases immediately but establishes a process for future updates.

Statewide Health Care Coverage; Establishing the Task Force on Universal Health Care for a specified purpose; directing all agencies of state government to assist the task force, including furnishing information and advice deemed necessary by the task force; providing for the membership, meetings, and funding of the task force; requiring the task force to establish an advisory committee for a specified purpose; requiring the Agency for Health Care Administration to develop a plan for a Medicaid buy-in program or a public health care option for certain residents of this state, etc. APPROPRIATION: $1,174,816