State Sen. John Thrasher, the Florida Republican Party chairman, is pushing legislation to make all emergency room healthcare providers "agents of the state" and consequently immune from medical malpractice lawsuits. Under the legislation, if a doctor at a private hospital makes a mistake, the state would pay the claim, subject to the current sovereign immunity cap of $200,000. To recover more, victims would need to file a claims bill in the Legislature, the St. Petersburg Times reports.