Florida Bill: HB 917

Bill Summary

This bill, titled the Health Care Medical Freedom Act, bars discrimination against patients based on vaccination status and strengthens informed‑consent requirements around childhood vaccination, including signed acknowledgments and the option of alternative schedules for minors. It also allows pharmacists to dispense ivermectin to adults without a prescription as a behind‑the‑counter medication with required counseling and grants them liability protection, while adding a new conscience‑based exemption (in addition to existing religious exemptions) that allows parents to opt their children out of school health exams and immunizations using a DOH form available online.

Why It Matters to the Make America Healthy Again Movement

The MAHA Movement supports this bill because it directly advances key “medical freedom” priorities: protecting patients from being denied care due to vaccination status, expanding parental choice via conscience‑based opt‑outs from school shots, and mandating robust disclosure of vaccine risks and benefits before children are vaccinated. MAHA also backs its provisions that make ivermectin readily accessible from pharmacists with legal protections, seeing this as a model for preserving clinician and patient autonomy against one‑size‑fits‑all federal guidance.