The Florida Senate

This bill conforms statutes to funding decisions related to Health Care in the Proposed General Appropriations Act (GAA) for Fiscal Year 2026-2027. Specifically, the bill:

•            Makes funding for the Department of Health’s (DOH) revolving loan program contingent upon legislative appropriation.

•            Requires the DOH to add screening for infantile Krabbe disease and metachromatic leukodystrophy to the newborn screening program.

•            Requires the DOH to develop and electronically distribute evidence-based educational materials for parents and guardians of preterm infants receiving neonatal intensive care services.

•            Requires the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), in consultation with the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) to establish a monthly reimbursement rate for Life Skills Development Level 3 and Level 4 services.

•            Authorizes specialty licensed children’s hospitals to receive Level I or Level II pediatric trauma center designation based on American College of Surgeons verification.

•            Establishes a funding allocation methodology for hospitals and qualifying institutions participating in the Graduate Medical Education Slots for Doctors Program.

•            Refines requirements governing the use of grant funding through the Behavioral Health Teaching Hospital Grant Program within the AHCA.

•            Increases foster care room and board rates for foster parents, licensed relative and nonrelative caregivers, and Relative Caregiver Program participants.

•            Makes the Step into Success Workforce Education and Internship Program permanent and expands program eligibility and services.

•            Establishes the Foster and Family Support Grant Program within the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to support nonprofit and faith-based organizations focused on recruiting and supporting foster, adoptive, and kinship families.

•            Revises the nursing home Quality Incentive Payment (QIP) Program by increasing the QIP pool percentage, raising the minimum quality score threshold for participation, directing the AHCA to consider recommendations from the statewide nursing home quality study, and delaying implementation of methodology changes for one year after recalculated scores are publicly released.

•            Authorizes the creation of a Medicaid preferred product list to support prescription drug management and cost containment.

•            Requires the AHCA to reimburse inpatient hospitals separately for long-acting injectable medications administered to Medicaid recipients with severe mental illness at no less than actual acquisition cost.

•            Establishes the Eligibility Assistance Program within the DCF to provide Medicaid eligibility information, referral, and navigation services for individuals with disabilities.

•            Requires the AHCA to re-procure Medicaid managed care contracts every 10 years instead of every 6 years and directs the agency to implement a phased statewide value-based care initiative focused on improving quality and health outcomes.

•            Clarifies the treatment, accounting, and redistribution of Medicaid managed care funds that are recovered, refunded, or withheld by the AHCA.

•            Authorizes the AHCA to establish a fee schedule for adult day care services.

•            Allows waiver funding to follow individuals who voluntarily transfer between the Home and Community Based Services Waiver and the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Pilot Program.

•            Defines the term “qualified provider,” establishes statewide qualification standards for child welfare providers, and requires the DCF to implement a standardized statewide provider contract for core child welfare services.

•            Authorize community-based lead agencies to carry forward up to eight percent of unexpended state funds of their annual contract amount instead of the cumulative contract total.

•            Revises statutory cross-references and conform provisions to align with substantive changes made by the act.

If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor's signature, these provisions take effect July 1, 2026, except where otherwise expressly provided.

Vote: Senate 33-1; House 103-2