Apr. 13--The move by a state senator to force Florida's blood banks to open their financial books to the public is running into opposition from the institutions he seeks to regulate.
"I'm disappointed," said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville.
Gaetz, chairman of the health-regulation committee, is sponsoring a bill that would make the nonprofit banks reveal each year to a state agency a full accounting of revenues and expenses. Under state public-records law, that would make the information available to everyone.
Blood-bank officials say Gaetz's bill is unnecessary because much of what he wants released already is available through IRS forms known as 990s. Those documents, however, often are filed late, are inconsistent in the data released and can be difficult to access.
"We don't think it should be legislated," said Jeanne Dariotis, who represents the Florida Association of Blood Banks and is an executive with Florida Blood Services, based in St. Petersburg and the largest blood bank in the state.
Emphasizing that she was offering her own opinion as much as that of the industry, Dariotis said every nonprofit should divulge financial matters to the state if that becomes expected of the blood banks.
"It should be necessary for everyone, not just a small group," she said.
Mike Pratt, acting CEO of Orlando's main blood bank, Florida's Blood Centers, has said he would support whatever the Legislature decides. FBC has spent nearly $90,000 on lobbyists to keep tabs on the bill.
FBC spokeswoman Susan Forbes, however, said her agency agrees with FABB's concerns about the bill, declining to elaborate. An attorney with the GrayRobinson law firm, based in Orlando, is lobbying for FABB.
Opposition to Gaetz is strongest in the House, where a companion bill filed by Rep. John Tobia, R- Melbourne, had the disclosure sections deleted when it was passed unanimously out of the health-care regulation policy committee two weeks ago.
The committee chairman, Nicholas Thompson, R-Fort Myers, declined comment, but an aide said Tobia approved of the changes.
Tobia would not directly discuss what happened. He conceded that the blood-banking industry is putting up a fight, but he declined to name the specific blood centers or lobbyists actively working against opening the books.
But Tobia did say he supports what Gaetz is trying to do and hopes that bill passes before the legislative session closes at month's end.
"I have no concerns with the Senate version," he said.
To gain approval, however, negotiators from the House and Senate would have to hash out differences between conflicting legislative proposals. There is no way to say for certain how Gaetz's bill will fare. But Gaetz wields considerable clout in the Senate.
HCA, a for-profit hospital chain based in Nashville, is a supporter of the move for transparency. HCA owns 28 hospitals in Florida and is a major client of FBC. Documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel in a public-records request indicate HCA has been pushing FBC for lower prices.
Forbes, in an e-mail to the Sentinel, said, "We are aware of HCA's interest in the legislation but hope that if the regulatory provisions remain in its enacted version they do not inhibit us from serving HCA and all our hospital customers as effectively and efficiently as possible."
Gaetz said HCA officials have complained to him that blood is too expensive and about the apparent disinterest banks have about providing services and products in areas they do not normally serve.
"Anything that can control costs and improve the quality and safety for patients, we think that's important," said Debra McKell, marketing director for HCA's west Florida division. Her company has 18 paid lobbyists in Tallahassee, state records indicate.
But Gaetz said HCA is far from the motivation for the bill. He said he was upset by some of FBC's business practices, many of which were revealed in a series of articles in the Sentinel. FBC, the Sentinel reported, permitted board members to sell millions of dollars' worth of goods and services to the agency; had no term limits for board members; and paid its top executive, Anne Chinoda, $605,000 a year.
In January, Gaetz held a hearing on the blood-banking industry and offered a mostly technical bill that did not include the open-record language. The transparency requirements were inserted after Chinoda, who resigned under pressure last month, declined to tell the Sentinel her 2009 salary.
She later revealed she had received a $71,000 annual raise just weeks before she decided to lay off 42 employees, most of them paid by the hour.
Dan Tracy can be reached at dtracy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5444.
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