Florida Senate - 2012 CS for SB 282
By the Committee on Health Regulation; and Senators Wise and
Storms
588-03228-12 2012282c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to health care transition programs and
3 services for adolescents and young adults who have
4 special health care needs; providing legislative
5 intent; establishing a program within the Division of
6 Children’s Medical Services Network in the Department
7 of Health to oversee transitional services in this
8 state using existing state plans in order to implement
9 health care transition programs for adolescents and
10 young adults who have special health care needs;
11 specifying responsibilities of the program with
12 respect to the oversight, implementation, and
13 coordination of the program; providing an effective
14 date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Legislative intent; health care transition
19 programs and services for adolescents and young adults who have
20 special health care needs.—
21 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a
22 strategic and comprehensive approach to the development and
23 implementation of effective health care transition programs and
24 services for adolescents and young adults who have special
25 health care needs. The Health Care Transition Services Task
26 Force for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities developed a
27 statewide plan to promote the development of such health care
28 transition services, in accordance with chapter 2008-211, Laws
29 of Florida, and outlined the plan in its subsequent report.
30 (2) A program called the Florida Health And Transition
31 Services (FloridaHATS) is established within the Division of
32 Children’s Medical Services Network to oversee transitional
33 services in this state using existing state plans in order to
34 implement effective transition services for adolescents and
35 young adults who have special health care needs. As used in this
36 section, the term “adolescents and young adults who have special
37 health care needs” means individuals who are 12 through 26 years
38 of age; who have chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or
39 emotional conditions; and who require health care or related
40 services of a type or amount beyond that which is generally
41 required by adolescents or young adults. FloridaHATS shall be
42 responsible for:
43 (a) Developing and overseeing a planning and implementation
44 process and the necessary guides for use by community providers
45 and organizations in developing coordinated systems of services
46 for adolescents and young adults who have special health care
47 needs.
48 (b) Developing and disseminating resource guides that
49 outline the various public and private health care financing
50 options, including commercial insurance, and the respective
51 health care benefits.
52 (c) Coordinating with educational institutions, including
53 medical centers, to identify and make available for health care
54 providers existing training programs regarding the principles,
55 objectives, and methods for the successful transition of
56 adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs
57 to adult health care providers.
58 (d) Maintaining and updating the FloridaHATS’s website with
59 web-based materials related to health care transition services
60 which can be used by adolescents and young adults who have
61 special health care needs and their families, providers, and
62 others involved in health care transition.
63 (e) Collecting and disseminating information in specific
64 clinical areas concerning evidence-based practices and best
65 practices for providing health care transition services for
66 adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs.
67 (f) Providing technical assistance to communities,
68 providers, and organizations that are involved in the
69 development and implementation of systems of services for
70 adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs.
71 (g) Developing and disseminating quality improvement and
72 evaluation components to other health care providers. The
73 quality improvement and evaluation components must include a
74 common or comparable set of performance measures for all
75 entities that provide health care transition services for
76 adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs.
77 (h) Establishing a network of experts in the fields of
78 pediatric and adolescent medicine, adult medicine, and allied
79 health to provide technical assistance and recommendations
80 regarding best practices and policy guidance in health care
81 transition.
82 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.