& SC15-2292 Venice HMA, LLC d/b/a Venice Regional Medical Center v. Sarasota County and Sarasota Doctors Hospital, Inc. v. Sarasota County

These consolidated cases are before the Court on appeal from the decision of the Second District Court of Appeal in Venice HMA, LLC v. Sarasota County, 198 So.3d 23 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015), which held that the indigent care provision of the special law applicable only'to Sarasota County constitutes an unconstitutional privilege because it provides for reimbursement to the public and private hospitals only in Sarasota County rather than in the entire State of Florida.1 However, because a special law by definition operates only in a defined subdivision of the State, we reverse the Second District’s…