As of January 1, 1990, the minimum entry level amount shall be indexed to the medical component of the consumer price index and shall be adjusted by the fund each year thereafter accordingly.
Such fees shall be based on not more than three geographical areas, not necessarily contiguous, with five categories of practice and with categories which contemplate separate risk ratings for hospitals, for health maintenance organizations, for ambulatory surgical facilities, and for other medical facilities. The fund is authorized to adjust the fees of an individual member to reflect the claims experience of such member. Each fiscal year of the fund shall operate independently of preceding fiscal years. Participants shall only be liable for assessments for claims from years during which they were members of the fund; in cases in which a participant is a member of the fund for less than the total fiscal year, a member shall be subject to assessments for that year on a pro rata basis determined by the percentage of participation for the year. The fund shall submit to the Office of Insurance Regulation the classifications and membership fees to be charged, and the Office of Insurance Regulation shall review such fees and shall approve them if they comply with all the requirements of this section and fairly reflect the considerations provided for in this section. If the classifications or membership fees do not comply with this section, the Office of Insurance Regulation shall set classifications or membership fees which do comply and which give due recognition to all considerations provided for in this section. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as imposing liability for payment of any part of a fund deficit on the Joint Underwriting Association authorized by s. 627.351(4) or its member insurers. If the fund determines that the amount of money in an account for a given fiscal year is in excess of or not sufficient to satisfy the claims made against the account, the fund shall certify the amount of the projected excess or insufficiency to the Office of Insurance Regulation and request the office to levy an assessment against or refund to all participants in the fund for that fiscal year, prorated, based on the number of days of participation during the year in question. The Office of Insurance Regulation shall approve the request of the fund to refund to, or levy any assessment against, the participants, provided the refund or assessment fairly reflects the same considerations and classifications upon which the membership fees were based. The assessment shall be in an amount sufficient to satisfy reserve requirements for known claims, including expenses to satisfy the claims, made against the account for a given fiscal year. In any proceeding to challenge the amount of the refund or assessment, it is to be presumed that the amount of refund or assessment requested by the fund is correct, if the fund demonstrates that it has used reasonable claims-handling and reserving procedures. Additional assessments may be certified and levied in accordance with this paragraph as necessary for any fiscal year. If a fund member objects to his or her assessment, he or she shall, as a condition precedent to bringing legal action contesting the assessment, pay the assessment, under protest, to the fund. The fund may borrow money needed for current operations, if necessary to pay claims and related expenses, fees, and costs timely for a given fiscal year, from an account for another fiscal year until such time as sufficient funds have been obtained through the assessment process. Any such money, together with interest at the mean interest rate earned on the investment portfolio of the fund, shall be repaid from the next assessment for the given fiscal year. If any assessments are levied in accordance with this subsection as a result of claims in excess of $500,000 per occurrence, and such assessments are a result of the liability of certain individuals and entities specified in paragraph (2)(e), only hospitals shall be subject to such assessments. Before approving the request of the fund to charge membership fees, issue refunds, or levy assessments, the Office of Insurance Regulation shall publish notice of the request in the Florida Administrative Register. Pursuant to chapter 120, any party substantially affected may request an appropriate proceeding. Any petition for such a proceeding shall be filed with the Office of Insurance Regulation within 21 days after the date of publication of the notice in the Florida Administrative Register.
The fund shall establish a schedule of fee surcharges which it shall levy upon participating health care providers found to be in violation of the provisions of the risk management program. Such schedule shall be subject to approval by the Office of Insurance Regulation and shall provide an escalating scale of surcharges based upon the frequency and severity of the incidents in violation of the risk management program. No health care provider shall be required to pay a surcharge if it has corrected all violations of the provisions of the risk management program and established an affirmative program to remain in compliance by the time its next fee or assessment is due.
Fla. Stat. § 766.105