The Florida Legislature recently concluded its 2026 legislative session, passing several bills that may significantly affect health care practitioners, facilities, and related entities across the state. These bills address a range of topics—from licensure and scope-of-practice changes to new facility requirements and patient safety standards. While each bill still requires the Governor’s approval (or must be allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature), health care providers should be aware of these potential changes and begin evaluating how they may impact their practices and operations.
Below is a summary of the key health care bills passed during this session.
SB 1092 – Podiatric Medicine
This bill makes two key changes to podiatric medicine regulation. First, it narrows the existing continuing education requirement for controlled substance prescribing so that it applies only to podiatric physicians who are registered with the U.S. rug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to prescribe controlled substances, exempting those who do not prescribe them.
Second, it permits podiatric physicians who meet certain criteria to perform procedures using cellular or tissue-based products that lack U.S. food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Physicians using these products must give patients written notice and include a disclaimer in all advertisements stating that the treatment is not FDA-approved. The Board of Podiatric Medicine is authorized to adopt rules to implement these provisions.
This bill has passed both houses of the Legislature. If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect upon becoming law.
SB 1404 – Memory Care
This bill establishes a new "memory care services" specialty license for assisted living facilities in Florida. It defines the terms "memory care resident" and "memory care services" and requires, on a specified timeline following the Agency for Health Care Administration's (AHCA) adoption of implementing rules, that any ALF providing memory care services, serving memory care residents, or advertising such services must obtain this specialty license. However, facilities that solely offer optional supportive services for residents with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia available to all residents are exempt from the license requirement, provided they comply with AHCA advertising rules.
The bill directs AHCA to adopt rules by June 1, 2027, setting minimum standards for the memory care services license and specifying criteria those standards must address. It also includes provisions allowing a memory care resident to remain at a facility that is unable to obtain the specialty license, so long as the resident's continued stay is appropriate for that type of ALF. Finally, upon AHCA's adoption of the memory care services license rules, the bill repeals sections 429.177 and 429.178, Florida Statutes.
This bill has passed both houses of the Legislature. If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect upon becoming law.
SB 0688 – Naturopathic Medicine
This bill reestablishes the licensure and regulation of naturopathic doctors in Florida by redesignating Chapter 462, Florida Statutes, as "Naturopathic Medicine" and updating its regulatory framework. It creates the Board of Naturopathic Medicine to assist the Department of Health in overseeing the profession and establishes licensure pathways by both examination and endorsement for applicants holding a doctoral degree in naturopathic medicine. The bill sets biennial renewal and continuing education requirements and applies standard disciplinary authority.
The bill defines the scope of naturopathic practice to include specified diagnostic and natural treatment modalities but expressly excludes prescriptive authority for legend drugs or prescription drugs, except for certain natural, nonpharmacologic substances as specifically provided. It also prohibits unlicensed practice and misuse of protected titles, with specified exceptions, and authorizes naturopathic doctors to provide services through telehealth.
This bill has passed both houses of the Legislature. If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect on December 31, 2026.
HB 0809 – Temporary Certificates for Practice in Areas of Critical Need
This bill allows health care practitioners holding temporary certificates—including allopathic and osteopathic physicians, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses—to continue providing primary care services in an area that loses its "area of critical need" designation. To qualify, the practitioner must have already established an active primary care treatment relationship with one or more patients in that area, and continued practice is limited to the specific geographic area, population, or facility where the practitioner was already treating patients.
The bill also adds a reauthorization requirement: when an area loses its designation, the applicable licensing board (Board of Medicine, Board of Osteopathic Medicine, or Board of Nursing) must verify that all other certificate requirements remain satisfied before allowing the practitioner to continue. This supplements the existing annual compliance review already required under current law.
This bill has passed both houses of the Legislature. If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect upon becoming law.
HB 1347 – Clinical Laboratory Personnel
This bill streamlines Florida’s licensure process for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians by aligning state requirements with federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) personnel standards. Specifically, applicants who meet the requirements of 42 C.F.R. § 493.1489 are deemed qualified to perform high complexity testing, and technician applicants who meet 42 C.F.R. § 493.1423 are deemed qualified to perform moderate complexity testing.
By adopting these federal standards, the bill eliminates certain state-specific specialty licensure requirements. To obtain licensure, applicants would need only to demonstrate compliance with the applicable federal CLIA standards, satisfy background screening requirements under § 456.0135, F.S., and pay the existing fees under § 483.807, F.S. Current Florida licensees would not be affected, as existing state requirements already meet or exceed the federal baseline.
This bill has passed both houses of the Legislature. If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect on July 1, 2026.
HB 867 – Dry Needling by Occupational Therapists
This bill permits occupational therapists to perform dry needling under the Occupational Therapy Practice Act and directs the Board of Occupational Therapy Practice to establish minimum standards for the procedure. Those standards must include at least two years of licensed practice, 50 hours of approved face-to-face continuing education, demonstrated psychomotor competency, and supervised clinical experience before a therapist may practice dry needling independently.
The bill includes several patient safety provisions: practitioners must obtain patient consent, incorporate dry needling into the patient's documented plan of care, and may not delegate the procedure to anyone other than an authorized occupational therapist. The Board is also empowered to impose additional training and supervision requirements for dry needling performed on the head, neck, or torso if warranted by patient safety concerns.
Finally, the bill directs the Department of Health to produce a report by December 31, 2028, analyzing workforce trends and adverse incidents related to occupational therapists performing dry needling.
This bill has passed both houses of the Legislature. If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect on July 1, 2026.
SB 192 – Patient Funds Held in Trust by Chiropractic Physicians
This bill removes the existing $1,500 cap on advance payments that chiropractic physicians may collect for examination or treatment, allowing them to collect any amount in advance. As a result, chiropractic physicians will no longer face disciplinary action by the Board of Chiropractic Medicine for collecting advance payments exceeding that former limit.
This bill has passed both houses of the Legislature. If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect on July 1, 2026.
HB 355 – Health Care Patient Protection
This bill requires every hospital with an emergency department to develop and implement policies and procedures specifically addressing the care of pediatric patients, including certain mandated items, with staff training on those policies conducted at least annually. Each emergency department must also designate a pediatric care coordinator and complete the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment on the timeframe set by the National Pediatric Readiness Project.
The bill further directs the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) to adopt rules establishing minimum standards for pediatric care in hospital emergency departments and to collect and publicly report each hospital's overall assessment score from the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment.
This bill has passed both houses of the Legislature. If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect on July 1, 2026.
Conclusion
The bills summarized above reflect the Florida Legislature's continued focus on modernizing health care regulation, expanding practitioner scope of practice, and strengthening patient safety standards. If signed into law, these measures will introduce new licensure requirements, modify existing regulatory frameworks, and impose additional operational obligations on health care facilities and practitioners throughout the state.
We encourage our clients to review these developments carefully and assess their potential impact on current practices, licensure obligations, and compliance programs. Effective dates vary by bill, so timely preparation will be important. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team if you have questions about how any of these bills may affect your practice or organization.
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