The Florida Senate

395.403  Reimbursement of trauma centers.--

(1)  All provisional trauma centers and trauma centers shall be considered eligible to receive state funding when state funds are specifically appropriated for state-sponsored trauma centers in the General Appropriations Act. Effective July 1, 2004, the department shall make one-time payments from the Administrative Trust Fund under s. 20.435 to the trauma centers and a hospital with a pending application for a Level I trauma center in recognition of the capital investment made by the hospital to establish the trauma service. Payments shall be in equal amounts for the trauma centers approved by the department as of July 1 of the fiscal year in which funding is appropriated, with lesser amounts for the hospital with an application pending for a Level I trauma center at the department as of April 1, 2004. In the event a trauma center does not maintain its status as a trauma center for any state fiscal year in which such funding is appropriated, the provisional trauma center or trauma center shall repay the state for the portion of the year during which it was not a trauma center.

(2)  Provisional trauma centers and trauma centers eligible to receive distributions from the Administrative Trust Fund under s. 20.435 in accordance with subsection (1) may request that such funds be used as intergovernmental transfer funds in the Medicaid program.

(3)  In order to receive state funding, a hospital shall be a trauma center and shall:

(a)  Agree to conform to all departmental requirements as provided by rule to assure high-quality trauma services.

(b)  Agree to provide information concerning the provision of trauma services to the department, in a form and manner prescribed by rule of the department.

(c)  Agree to accept all trauma patients, regardless of ability to pay, on a functional space-available basis.

(4)  A trauma center that fails to comply with any of the conditions listed in subsection (3) or the applicable rules of the department shall not receive payments under this section for the period in which it was not in compliance.

History.--ss. 7, 15, ch. 90-284; s. 79, ch. 91-282; s. 92, ch. 92-33; ss. 39, 98, ch. 92-289; s. 19, ch. 98-89; s. 8, ch. 2004-259.

Note.--Former s. 395.034.