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Council rejects ordinance granting hospitals prioritized lien rights on settlements
Summary
Volusia County Council voted 4-3 against an ordinance (Ordinance 2025-9) that would have given certain nonprofit hospitals and county EMS enhanced lien rights on medical payments from injury settlements. The item drew extended public comment from local physicians, attorneys and hospital counsel before the narrowly divided vote.
The Volusia County Council on Tuesday declined to approve an ordinance that would have established prioritized medical-provider lien rights for certain nonprofit hospitals and county emergency medical services in settlement proceeds from injury cases.
The proposed ordinance (Ordinance 2025-9) would have granted lien rights for specified charitable hospitals and county EMS for outstanding reasonable charges for medical care, with specific language about reimbursement amounts tied to insurance reimbursements or, for uninsured patients, to the hospital's reasonable outstanding charges. After public testimony and deliberation the council voted against the ordinance by a 4-3 margin.
Why the debate intensified
The measure drew sustained public comment. Halifax Health's deputy general counsel, Jillian Wheelock, told the council the hospital system sought the ordinance to…
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