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TALLAHASSEE - Last year, Florida's doctors and hospitals called a truce in the battle over relaxed rules for open-heart surgery.
But at the prompting of a handful of still-unhappy hospitals, the issue has been resurrected.
After being defeated just days ago in the Senate committee on banking and insurance, the proposal now is slated for reconsideration later this month.
"So there is the potential that it could come back" says Bill Bell, legal counsel and lobbyist for the Florida Hospital Association, which opposes the measure.
Delicate compromise
At issue is whether the state should make it easier for more, and smaller, hospitals to establish sophisticated open-heart surgery programs.
While some smaller hospitals - notably, Martin Memorial Medical Center in Stuart and Indian River Memorial Hospital in Vero Beach - argued there was a need for the services, critics abounded.
Everyone from consumer representatives on the Florida medical board to thoracic surgeons lined up to oppose such measures, warning that loosening restrictions could lead to...