Dive Brief:
- The Florida House of Representatives passed a bill (HB 307) expanding the use of medical marijuana and a bill (HB 1411) that would limit abortions, the Sun Sentinel reported.
- While the marijuana bill had bipartisan support, Republicans and Democrats voted down party lines on the abortion measure.
- Lawmakers also approved a wide range of other healthcare measures, including a bill that would establish regulations for telemedicine.
Dive Insight:
Approved in 99-16 vote, the marijuana bill would expand the use of any kind of marijuana to people who have received a prognosis of less than a year to live by two physicians. The current law restricts medical marijuana to the noneuphoric variety for people with epilepsy and cancer.
The abortion bill, approved 77-44, bars any use of fetal remains and details how they must be disposed. This bill also bans the use of state funds for groups like Planned Parenthood, the Sun Sentinel said.
Also approved were a needle exchange plot program and legislation to create overnight recovery care centers, aimed at cutting the length of more costly hospital stays.
The House voted near unanimously in favor of a bill that would let physician assistants and nurse practitioners prescribe drugs. A similar measure is working its way through the state Senate.