The Florida Senate

¹393.165  Legislative findings.--

(1)  The Legislature finds:

(a)  That noninstitutional home and community-based services are a cost-effective and appropriate alternative to institutional care for many individuals who would otherwise be served in institutional settings;

(b)  That the Intermediate Care Facility for the Developmentally Disabled program is an optional institutional service authorized by Title XIX of the Social Security Act and that this act encourages states to develop and utilize alternatives to optional institutional services for Medicaid clients through authorization of waivers that allow for federal financial participation in the provision of services in noninstitutional settings for clients who are eligible for Medicaid-reimbursed institutional services;

(c)  That utilization of noninstitutional funding mechanisms for individuals residing outside of state-owned-and-operated institutions allows individuals to be appropriately served at less cost than is possible through the Intermediate Care Facility for the Developmentally Disabled program;

(d)  That federal regulations diminish the ability of the state to manage resources currently used to reimburse privately owned or operated intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled to enable the most cost-effective utilization of resources appropriated to programs that serve individuals with developmental disabilities;

(e)  That there are fundamental differences in the respective roles of private and public facilities that serve individuals with developmental disabilities and that these differences justify funding private and public facilities through different funding mechanisms;

(f)  That there is a critical state need to continue financing institutional services provided in state-owned-and-operated facilities for the developmentally disabled through the Intermediate Care Facility for the Developmentally Disabled program to provide for the adequate care of the clients who reside in these facilities; and

(g)  That the most appropriate and cost-effective care for state-supported clients who reside in privately owned or operated residential facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities is provided through community-based, noninstitutional service delivery models that are financed through noninstitutional financing mechanisms.

(2)  In accordance with the findings in subsection (1), it is the intent of the Legislature that, in order to both reduce the cost of serving individuals with developmental disabilities and provide appropriate alternative services to institutional care, privately owned or operated facilities authorized to receive reimbursement through the Medicaid Intermediate Care Facility for the Developmentally Disabled program on June 30, 1996, shall no longer be reimbursed through that program but may continue to serve clients through noninstitutional service arrangements that are financed through noninstitutional funding mechanisms. It is further the intent of the Legislature that individuals who reside in state-owned-and-operated intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled shall continue to receive services financed through the Medicaid Intermediate Care Facility for the Developmentally Disabled program.

History.--s. 11, ch. 96-417.

¹Note.--Section 4, ch. 97-260, provides:

"Report required; department to notify Legislature and develop plan if judicial decisions result in spending requirements in excess of appropriations.--

"(1)  The Department of Children and Family Services shall develop individual support plans for the approximately 2,176 persons directly affected by the transition from funding through the Intermediate Care Facility for Developmentally Disabled Program to noninstitutional funding. The individual plans shall provide for appropriate services to each affected individual in the most cost-effective manner possible. The department shall report the projected aggregate cost of providing services by fund source through the individual plans to the Office of Planning and Budgeting, the Senate Ways and Means Committee, and the House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee by September 30, 1997. The aggregate costs reported shall be based on typical industry rates and shall not include special adjustments for property costs or other additional costs unique to any individual provider or type of provider. The department may, however, report any such costs separately. The report must further provide detailed information on department efforts to maximize Medicare and other funding available outside the Developmental Services Program and the use of generic community resources along with a calculation of the value of such resources. The report must also include a summary of the department's progress in recruiting alternative providers in the event that any current providers decide to discontinue services to clients or cannot provide quality services within the anticipated rate structure.

"(2)  If judicial decisions are continued or rendered that the Department of Children and Family Services feels will require spending in excess of the amounts budgeted for Developmental Services, the department shall immediately notify the Chairs of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, the House Fiscal Responsibility Council, and the House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee. Within 1 week after providing notification pursuant to this subsection, the department shall submit a spending plan that addresses the projected deficit.

"(3)  This section is repealed July 1, 1999."