Lawmakers Look To Keep Pain Clinic Regulations
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/NSF) – Florida lawmakers appear to be moving quickly to keep in place regulations that were approved to help curb widespread problems with prescription-drug abuse and trafficking.
On Wednesday, House and Senate subcommittees unanimously approved bills that would prevent the expiration of the regulations.
House sponsor Ross Spano, R-Dover, told the House Health Quality Subcommittee that largely unregulated pain-management clinics were popping up like "wildfire" before the regulations were put in place.
The House Health Quality Subcommittee voted unanimously to approve Spano's bill (HB 4017) to eliminate the expiration date.Lawmakers in 2011 passed a wide-ranging law to try to deal with the prescription-drug programs, but they also included a Jan. 1, 2016, expiration date on clinic regulations.
The Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, also on Wednesday, unanimously approved the Senate version of the bill (SB 450), filed by Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.