A new law signed this month creates some consumer protections for patients of doctors who perform liposuction, including Brazilian butt lifts, and the office-based surgery centers where many of these doctors work.
Here’s what you need to know about HB 1561, which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law on May 11:
Fat removal
▪ New law: Physicians who perform liposuction procedures involving more than 1,000 cc of overlying fat, temporarily or permanently, must register their practice with the Florida Department of Health.
The change: Before, this was only a requirement if that amount of fat was permanently removed.
Bottom line: The addition of “temporary” makes it a must-have for office surgery centers that perform Brazilian butt lifts, or BBLs, which involve moving fat from another part of the body to the buttocks.
Office surgery fines
▪ New Law: A physician who performs a liposuction procedure that involves the removal of more than 1,000 cc of overlying fat, a Level II or III office surgery procedure, which is not located in an office surgery center registered with the Florida Department of Health, may be fined 5,000 $ per procedure.
The change: The fine was capped at $5,000 per day.
Result: Doctors who break the law risk far more out of pocket. One day of three surgeries at an unregistered surgery center could cost a doctor $15,000 for that day alone.
Liability coverage for butt lifts
▪ New law: Doctors who perform buttock fat grafting, the medical term for Brazilian butt lifts, must have professional liability coverage of at least $250,000 per claim and at least $750,000 per year. Or, they must obtain and maintain an “unexpired, irrevocable credit” for the above amounts.
The change: Liposuction doctors can no longer go without a cover, otherwise known as “naked.” As the Tampa law firm Palmer Lopez notes on its website, “Typically, doctors who practice medicine in hospitals have insurance policies, as do the hospitals themselves. However, private practitioners, and especially those who offer cosmetic surgery at a discount, often do not carry medical malpractice insurance.”
Bottom line: Consumers have a better chance of getting something out of a judgment if things go wrong and they file a successful lawsuit. It’s not uncommon for doctors to work without coverage, then if they see a lawsuit coming, they engage in various financial maneuvers to keep their money from going to the patients they’ve injured.
Surgical center coverage
New law: “Principles in which one or more doctors perform buttock fat grafting procedures” must establish the same financial responsibility as above.
The change: Office-based surgery centers can no longer not provide coverage.
Result: There is more recourse for consumers. It’s also harder for surgery centers to keep their doctors at arm’s length when something goes wrong. Xiluet Plastic Surgery of West Miami-Dade, for example, uses as a defense in a pending lawsuit that the doctor at a woman’s practice was an “independent contractor” for whom Xiluet “does not supervise, manage, or control the provision of medical care . .”
