CS/SB 330 — Behavioral Health Teaching Hospitals
by Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services and Senators Boyd and Rouson
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services Committee (AHS)
The bill creates the designation of behavioral health teaching hospitals to advance Florida’s behavioral health systems of care by creating a new integrated care and education model.
Specifically, the bill includes provisions related to the following topics:
Designation
- Creates a new “behavioral health teaching hospital” designation within ch. 395, F.S., for licensed teaching hospitals that partner with a state university school of medicine and offer specific behavioral health education programs.
- Requires the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) to designate the following hospital and university partnerships as Behavioral Health Teaching Hospitals (BHTHs) within 30 days of the bill becoming law:
- Tampa General Hospital, in affiliation with the University of South Florida;
- UF Health Shands Hospital, in affiliation with the University of Florida;
- UF Health Jacksonville, in affiliation with the University of Florida; and
- Jackson Memorial Hospital, in affiliation with the University of Miami.
- Beginning July 1, 2025, allows specific Florida-based medical schools to partner with one eligible statutory teaching hospital, notwithstanding the university affiliated with two in the initial BHTH designations once the bill becomes law.
- Limits a BHTH designation to 2 years, with a renewal process, and authorizes the AHCA to deny, revoke, or suspend a designation for non-compliance.
- Allows BHTHs to participate in the AHCA’s new Training, Education, and Clinicals in Health (TEACH) funding program for hospitals to offset administrative costs and loss of revenue to train behavioral health workforce professionals.
- Allows BHTHs to participate in the AHCA’s Graduate Medical Education Slots for Doctors Program funding to provide each BHTH up to 10 residency slots at $150,000 per slot.
Grant Program
- Establishes a grant program, subject to legislative appropriation, in the AHCA to fund BHTH operations and expenses and fixed capital outlay, including facility renovation and upgrades.
- Requires the ACHA to provide 30-day open application periods on November 1 of 2025 and 2026, to accept applications, accompanied by detailed spending plans, from designated BHTHs.
- On or before January 1 of 2025 and 2026, hospitals that plan to apply for designation must submit a letter of intent to the AHCA.
- The AHCA, in consultation with the Department of Children and Families (DCF), will evaluate and rank grant applications and submit recommendations for grant awards to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
- The AHCA may submit budget amendments requesting the release of funds to make awards.
Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce
- Establishes the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce (Center) within the University of South Florida’s Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute to support an adequate, highly skilled, resilient, and innovative workforce that meets the current and future human resources needs of the state’s behavioral health system and develop and disseminate best practices. The Center will:
- Describe and analyze current workforce and possible future workforce demand and produce a statistically valid biennial analysis of the supply and demand of the workforce;
- Expand pathways to behavioral health professions through enhanced educational opportunities and improved faculty development and retention;
- Promote behavioral health professions; and
- Convene stakeholders to assist the Center in its work.
Mental Health Inpatient Treatment Services Capacity Study
- Requires the DCF to contract for a detailed study of the capacity for inpatient treatment services for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance or psychosis in this state’s forensic inpatient, safety-net voluntary and involuntary civil inpatient placement, and Medicaid statewide inpatient psychiatric programs.
- The study must be completed by January 31, 2025.
The bill includes the following appropriations:
- $300 million in nonrecurring general revenue funds to the AHCA to award grants of up to $100 million each fiscal year beginning with Fiscal Year 2024-2025 for the development and implementation of the behavioral health teaching hospital model. Funds will held in reserve and released pursuant to ch. 216, F.S., to designated behavioral health teaching hospitals for operating and capital expenditures contingent upon a detailed spending plan. The grant program can carry forward any non-disbursed grant funds for up to eight years.
- $5 million in recurring general revenue funds to the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute for the operation of the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce.
- $6 million in recurring funds, including $2.6 million in general revenue funds and $3.4 million from the Medical Care Trust Fund, to the AHCA for the Graduate Medical Education Slots for Doctors Program for residency positions at $150,000 each.
- $2 million in recurring general revenue funds to the AHCA to provide each BHTH up to $500,000 in TEACH program funds.
If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect July 1, 2024, except as otherwise expressly provided.
Vote: Senate 40-0; House 114-0