Five items moving through Florida medicine right now that affect how we practice. Each one has a date, a source, and a concrete thing for you to do or know about.
1. The Board of Medicine has opened board-certification advertising to NBPAS
At its August 7, 2026 meeting, the Florida Board of Medicine approved the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons as a recognizing agency under the state’s physician advertising rule. The practical effect is narrow but real. A physician who completed an accredited residency and passed a specialty board examination, and who then chose NBPAS for the maintenance phase of certification rather than the ABMS member board pathway, may now advertise as board certified in Florida without running into the advertising rule. Before this vote, that physician was in the odd position of holding the underlying certification while being unable to say so in a practice listing or a hospital bio.
The American Board of Medical Specialties has objected, and its objection is worth understanding rather than dismissing, because it points at where this may go next. ABMS argues the approval was only possible by exempting NBPAS from a requirement the rule otherwise applies to recognizing agencies. That is the kind of asymmetry that invites a rule challenge. If you are considering moving your maintenance of certification to NBPAS on the strength of this vote, it is reasonable to make the switch, and it is also reasonable to keep an eye on whether the rule gets revisited. Coverage at GlobeNewswire and the ABMS response at PR Newswire.
2. Medicare payment is set to fall again in 2027, and the comment window closes September 14
CMS issued the CY 2027 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule on July 14, 2026. The proposed conversion factor for qualifying APM participants is $33.17, down from $33.57, and the nonqualifying conversion factor is $32.84, down from $33.40. Those are cuts of roughly 1.2 and 1.7 percent respectively. The mechanism is not a new policy decision so much as an expiration: Public Law 119-21 gave the fee schedule a one-year 2.50 percent conversion factor increase for CY 2026, and that increase does not carry forward, so current law produces a reduction relative to this year.
The comment period is open through September 14, 2026 at regulations.gov under docket CMS-1848-P. Comments from practicing physicians describing the operational effect on a specific practice have historically carried more weight in these dockets than society sign-on letters, and this is a two-week window rather than a two-month one. If you have been meaning to comment on a Medicare rule and have not, this is the one to start with. The CMS fact sheet is at cms.gov and the rule itself is in the Federal Register.
3. The malpractice picture after Berk v. Choy is narrower than the first read suggested
When the Supreme Court decided Berk v. Choy on January 20, 2026, holding that Delaware’s affidavit-of-merit statute is unenforceable in federal court because it conflicts with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8, the early commentary treated it as a general solvent for state malpractice gatekeeping. Seven months of analysis has produced a more careful reading, and Florida physicians benefit from it.
The distinction that has emerged turns on what kind of requirement a state has written. Delaware’s rule is a pleading-attachment rule: it tells the plaintiff what must be filed together with the complaint, which is exactly the territory Rule 8 occupies. Florida’s Chapter 766 presuit framework is structured differently. Florida courts have treated the presuit notice and corroborating expert opinion as conditions precedent to bringing the action rather than as requirements about the contents of a pleading, and federal courts have historically enforced them on that basis without disturbing federal pleading rules. That structural difference is the reason Chapter 766 is more likely to survive in federal diversity cases than the initial round of commentary implied. This is not settled, and it will be litigated. It does mean that if your carrier told you in the spring to expect a wave of federal filings that bypass presuit, that expectation deserves a second conversation. Analysis at Baker Donelson and the opinion at Justia.
4. The VTE registry is live, and the first quarterly submissions are working their way through facilities now
Reporting to Florida’s statewide venous thromboembolism registry began July 1, 2026 under the Emily Adkins Family Protection Act, which covers every Florida hospital with an emergency department and every ambulatory surgical center. The registry is the first of its kind in the country, named for a 23-year-old Fernandina Beach woman who died of a pulmonary embolism in 2022. Facilities report demographics, diagnostic method, treatment, and outcome on a quarterly cycle through a Department of Health portal, and they are separately required to implement VTE risk-assessment protocols built on nationally recognized tools.
That second requirement is the one that lands on clinicians rather than on the compliance office, and it is where most of the friction has shown up. The risk-assessment protocol has to be documented in the chart to be reportable, which in practice means a new field, a new template, or a new order set at most facilities. The exact submission deadline for the first quarterly cycle varies by facility and is worth confirming with your own compliance staff rather than assuming, since the statute sets the cadence but facilities have implemented the portal workflow on different schedules. The hospital FAQ is at stoptheclot.org.
5. Memorial Healthcare and Florida Blue hit one year out of network today
Memorial Healthcare System has been out of network with Florida Blue since September 1, 2025, which makes today the one-year mark with no announced resolution. Florida Blue’s own negotiation page still lists only two Memorial facilities as having returned to the network, both of them ambulatory surgical centers that came back on March 1, 2026: Cypress Creek Outpatient Surgical Center in Fort Lauderdale and South Broward Endoscopy in Hollywood. The hospitals, the emergency departments, and the employed physician group remain out.
Florida Blue’s public position centers on charge growth, and it names chemotherapy specifically, citing a 150 percent increase in the average cost of a single course of treatment over four years. Memorial’s position is that the offered rates do not reflect the cost of complex care at a safety-net system. What has changed for referring physicians is the alternative network rather than the dispute itself. As of March 1, 2026, Nicklaus Children’s Health System began offering acute inpatient and outpatient pediatric services at Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health Coral Springs, which gives Broward pediatricians an in-network option they did not have a year ago. For everything else, South Florida physicians referring into Memorial should still verify network status at the point of referral, and should know that continuity-of-care protections apply to patients in active treatment for complex or chronic conditions. Status page at floridablue.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can NBPAS-certified physicians advertise as board certified in Florida?
Yes. The Florida Board of Medicine approved the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons as a recognizing agency under the physician advertising rule at its August 7, 2026 meeting. Physicians who completed accredited residency training and passed a specialty board examination, and who use NBPAS for maintenance of certification, may now advertise as board certified in Florida. The American Board of Medical Specialties has objected to the decision, so the rule may be revisited.
When does the comment period close on the 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule?
The comment window for CMS-1848-P closes September 14, 2026. Comments are accepted at regulations.gov. The proposed rule reduces the conversion factor to $33.17 for qualifying APM participants and $32.84 for nonqualifying participants, cuts of roughly 1.2 and 1.7 percent, because the one-year 2.50 percent increase provided for CY 2026 under Public Law 119-21 does not carry into CY 2027.
Does Berk v. Choy eliminate Florida’s Chapter 766 presuit requirements in federal court?
Probably not. Berk v. Choy held that Delaware’s affidavit-of-merit statute conflicts with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 because it governs what must be attached to a complaint. Florida courts have treated Chapter 766 presuit notice and the corroborating expert opinion as conditions precedent to bringing the action rather than as pleading requirements, and federal courts have enforced them on that basis. The question is unsettled and will be litigated, but the structural difference makes Chapter 766 more durable than the earliest commentary suggested.
Which Florida facilities must report to the VTE registry, and what do clinicians have to do?
Every Florida hospital with an emergency department and every ambulatory surgical center must report venous thromboembolism data quarterly to the statewide registry, which began accepting data July 1, 2026. Facilities must also implement VTE risk-assessment protocols using nationally recognized tools, and that assessment has to be documented in the chart to be reportable. Confirm your facility’s specific submission deadline with compliance, since portal workflows have rolled out on different schedules.
Is Memorial Healthcare back in network with Florida Blue?
No. As of September 1, 2026, only Cypress Creek Outpatient Surgical Center and South Broward Endoscopy are in network, both since March 1, 2026. Memorial’s hospitals, emergency departments, and employed physician group remain out of network, with no announced resolution date. Patients in active treatment for complex or chronic conditions may qualify for continuity-of-care protections.