The Florida Senate

408.002  Legislative findings and intent.--

(1)  The Legislature finds that Florida's health care delivery system requires major reform. Health care costs are increasing at an unacceptably high rate, and access to health care services is declining. At least 2.5 million Floridians are uninsured and many more of our citizens are underinsured, discovering that the insurance they have purchased is often not enough when illness occurs. The Legislature recognizes that unemployed, part-time, and seasonal workers are commonly excluded from employer-based health insurance coverage.

(2)  Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to create The Florida Health Plan, the purpose of which is to reform our health care delivery system through providing access to basic health services for all Floridians, reforming our health insurance system, limiting health care cost increases to manageable levels, restructuring health regulation, and establishing a comprehensive health care database. The Legislature intends that The Florida Health Plan include specific goals and timetables for ensuring access to basic affordable health care, cost containment, insurance reform, and a comprehensive health database. Further, the Legislature intends that the plan include an affordable basic health benefit package in order to increase the ability of state residents to purchase health care coverage.

(3)  In recognizing the importance of limiting health care cost increases to the success of The Florida Health Plan, the Legislature intends that the plan contain a comprehensive cost containment program, including a measurable target for the reduction in health care inflation, a state annual health expenditure report, practice parameters, resource utilization reviews, Medicaid buy-in, and pooled purchasing initiatives. Further, the Legislature proposes that the cost containment program portion of The Florida Health Plan include reform in the areas of enhanced health care marketplace competition and improved regulatory programs for market entry, reimbursement mechanisms, administrative efficiencies, and facility and professional licensing.

(4)  The Legislature encourages health care providers, health care purchasers, and the public to participate in a voluntary health care cost control and health care access program. Through participation in such program, the Legislature intends to determine the degree to which participation by state government is required to reform the health care system.

(5)  Finally, the Legislature finds that the distribution of health care responsibilities among multiple state agencies has added excessive costs to the health care delivery system. In order to reduce administrative costs and to improve the state's efficiency in addressing the health care crisis, it is the intent of the Legislature to consolidate health care financing, data collection, and regulatory functions into a single state agency. The Legislature intends that this single state agency serve the Governor and the Legislature in all health-related matters.

History.--s. 3, ch. 92-33.