CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.House Bill 1965
Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 1965
By the Committee on Health Care Services and
Representatives Albright, Casey, Bloom, Peaden, Heyman,
Rodriguez-Chomat, Arnall, Goode, Byrd, Flanagan, Littlefield
and Geller
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to health care; creating s.
3 154.501, F.S.; creating the "Primary Care
4 Challenge Grant Act"; creating s. 154.502,
5 F.S.; providing legislative findings and
6 intent; creating s. 154.503, F.S.; providing
7 for the creation and administration of the
8 Primary Care Challenge Grant Program; creating
9 s. 154.504, F.S.; providing for eligibility and
10 benefits; creating s. 154.505, F.S.; providing
11 an application process and requirements;
12 authorizing contracts for health care services;
13 creating s. 154.506, F.S.; providing for
14 primary care challenge grant awards; providing
15 for local matching funds; creating ss. 154.507
16 and 154.508, F.S.; providing legislative intent
17 relating to healthy communities, healthy people
18 projects and school health services;
19 authorizing the Department of Health to fund
20 certain projects; providing an effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Section 154.501, Florida Statutes, is
25 created to read:
26 154.501 Short title.--Sections 154.501-154.506 may be
27 cited as the "Primary Care Challenge Grant Act."
28 Section 2. Section 154.502, Florida Statutes, is
29 created to read:
30 154.502 Legislative findings and intent.--
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1 (1) The Legislature finds that, despite significant
2 state investments in health care programs, millions of
3 low-income Floridians continue to lack access to basic health
4 care. The Legislature finds that local solutions to health
5 care problems can have a dramatic and positive effect on
6 residents' health status. Local governments are better
7 equipped to identify their residents' health care needs,
8 mobilize the community to donate time and services to helping
9 their neighbors, and organize health care providers to provide
10 health services to needy residents.
11 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide
12 matching funds to Florida counties in the form of primary care
13 challenge grants to stimulate the development of coordinated
14 primary health care delivery systems for low-income,
15 non-Medicaid-eligible Floridians, including persons who are at
16 the end of their transition period out of the Work and Gain
17 Economic Self-sufficiency (WAGES) Program and who no longer
18 qualify for Medicaid. Further, it is the intent of the
19 Legislature to foster the development of coordinated primary
20 health care delivery systems which emphasize volunteerism,
21 cooperation, and broad-based participation by public and
22 private health care providers. Finally, it is the intent of
23 the Legislature that the Primary Care Challenge Grant Program
24 function as a partnership between state and local governments.
25 Section 3. Section 154.503, Florida Statutes, is
26 created to read:
27 154.503 Primary Care Challenge Grant Program;
28 creation; administration.--
29 (1) Effective July 1, 1997, there is created the
30 Primary Care Challenge Grant Program to be administered by the
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1 Department of Health. The department may form a committee to
2 evaluate and select the counties to be funded.
3 (2) The department shall:
4 (a) Publicize the availability of funds and the method
5 by which a county or counties may submit a primary care
6 challenge grant application.
7 (b) Develop a quality assurance process to monitor the
8 quality of health services provided under ss. 154.501-154.506.
9 (c) Provide technical assistance, as requested, to
10 primary care challenge grant recipients.
11 (d) Develop uniform data reporting requirements for
12 primary care challenge grant recipients for the purpose of
13 evaluating the performance of the projects.
14 (e) Coordinate with the primary care program developed
15 pursuant to s. 154.011, and with the Volunteer Health Care
16 Provider Program developed pursuant to s. 766.1115.
17 (3) A primary care challenge grant shall be in effect
18 for 2 years and may be renewed upon application to and
19 approval by the department.
20 (4) The department is authorized to adopt rules
21 necessary to implement ss. 154.501-154.506.
22 Section 4. Section 154.504, Florida Statutes, is
23 created to read:
24 154.504 Eligibility and benefits.--
25 (1) Any county or counties may apply for a primary
26 care challenge grant to provide primary health care services
27 to non-Medicaid-eligible persons with incomes of up to 150
28 percent of the federal poverty level.
29 (2) Nothing in this section shall prevent counties
30 with populations no greater than 100,000, based on the annual
31 estimates produced by the Population Program of the University
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1 of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, from
2 submitting a multicounty application for a primary care
3 challenge grant to jointly administer and operate a
4 coordinated multicounty primary care program under ss.
5 154.501-154.506. However, when such counties submit a joint
6 application, the application shall clearly identify one lead
7 county with respect to program accountability and
8 administration.
9 (3) Each county or group of counties submitting an
10 application to participate in the Primary Care Challenge Grant
11 Program shall develop a schedule of benefits and services
12 appropriate for the population to be served. However, at a
13 minimum, such benefits must cover preventive and primary care
14 services and limited inpatient hospital care.
15 Section 5. Section 154.505, Florida Statutes, is
16 created to read:
17 154.505 Proposals; application process; minimum
18 requirements.--
19 (1) Any county or counties which desire to receive
20 state funding under ss. 154.501-154.506 shall submit an
21 application to the department. The department shall develop
22 an application for the Primary Care Challenge Grant Program.
23 (2) Applications shall be competitively reviewed by
24 the department. Selection shall be based on the following:
25 (a) The target population to be served.
26 (b) The health benefits to be provided.
27 (c) The proposed service network, including specific
28 health care providers and health care facilities that will
29 participate in the service network on a paid or voluntary
30 basis.
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1 (d) The methods that will be used to measure
2 cost-effectiveness.
3 (e) How patient and provider satisfaction will be
4 measured.
5 (f) The proposed internal quality assurance process.
6 (g) Projected health status outcomes.
7 (h) The way in which data to measure the
8 cost-effectiveness, outcomes, and overall performance of the
9 program will be collected, including a description of the
10 proposed information system.
11 (i) All local resources, including cash, in-kind,
12 voluntary, or other resources, that will be dedicated to the
13 proposal.
14 (3) Preference shall be given to:
15 (a) Proposals that exceed the minimum local
16 contribution requirements specified in s. 154.506.
17 (b) Proposals that demonstrate broad-based local
18 support for the project, including, but not limited to,
19 agreements to participate in the service network, letters of
20 endorsement, or other forms of support.
21 (c) Proposals that demonstrate a high degree of
22 participation by health care providers on a free or volunteer
23 basis and that include publicly funded health care providers,
24 such as county health departments, community health centers,
25 or rural health clinics, in the service network.
26 (d) Proposals submitted by counties with a high
27 proportion of residents living in poverty and with poor health
28 status indicators.
29 (e) Proposals which serve persons who are at the end
30 of their transition period out of the Work and Gain Economic
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1 Self-sufficiency (WAGES) Program who no longer qualify for
2 Medicaid.
3 (4) Nothing in ss. 154.501-154.506 shall prevent a
4 county or group of counties from contracting for the provision
5 of health care services. A service network may include, but
6 need not be limited to, special health care districts, county
7 health departments, federally qualified health centers,
8 community health centers, and rural health clinics.
9 Section 6. Section 154.506, Florida Statutes, is
10 created to read:
11 154.506 Primary care challenge grant awards.--
12 (1) Primary care challenge grants shall be awarded on
13 a matching basis. The county or counties shall provide $1 in
14 local matching funds for each $2 grant payment made by the
15 state. Up to 50 percent of the county match may be in-kind in
16 the form of free hospital and physician services. However, a
17 county shall not supplant the value of donated services in
18 fiscal year 1996 as documented in the Volunteer Health Care
19 Provider Program annual report. The department shall develop
20 a methodology for determining the value of an in-kind match.
21 The remaining 50 percent of the local match shall be in the
22 form of cash.
23 (2) Total 2-year grant awards shall be based on a
24 county's population size, or each individual county's size in
25 a group of counties, as reflected in the annual estimates
26 produced by the Population Program of the University of
27 Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, in the
28 following amounts:
29 (a) $250,000 for counties with no more than 100,000
30 residents.
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1 (b) $500,000 for counties with more than 100,000 and
2 no more than 500,000 residents.
3 (c) $1 million for counties with more than 500,000
4 residents.
5 (3) Implementation of the Primary Care Challenge Grant
6 Program shall be subject to the allocation of a specific
7 appropriation in the General Appropriations Act.
8 Section 7. Section 154.507, Florida Statutes, is
9 created to read:
10 154.507 Healthy communities, healthy people.--
11 (1) The Legislature finds that a portion of the health
12 care problems to be addressed by the Primary Care Challenge
13 Grant Program are preventable through the utilization of
14 healthy communities, healthy people projects. The Legislature
15 finds that community-based healthy communities, healthy people
16 projects are a cost-effective method for improving residents'
17 health status.
18 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide
19 funding for new and existing healthy communities, healthy
20 people projects as an adjunct to the Primary Care Challenge
21 Grant Program. The preventive services provided may include
22 health promotion, health education, and clinical health
23 preventive services developed through a community-based health
24 promotion planning process as described in s. 408.604.
25 Section 8. Section 154.508, Florida Statutes, is
26 created to read:
27 154.508 School health services.--
28 (1) The Legislature finds that a portion of the health
29 care problems addressed by the Primary Care Challenge Grant
30 Program are preventable through the provision of increased
31 school health services. The Legislature finds that the
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1 provision of school health services is a cost-effective method
2 for improving students' health status.
3 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide
4 increased funding for school health services as an adjunct to
5 the Primary Care Challenge Grant Program. The department may
6 use specified funds as follows: Medicaid school health
7 nurses, local government or school board match for school
8 nurses, or matching funds raised from private for-profit or
9 not-for-profit organizations that sponsor school nurses
10 targeted to indigent care settings, including clinics and
11 schools.
12 Section 9. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
13 law.
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16 HOUSE SUMMARY
17
Creates the Primary Care Challenge Grant Program,
18 administered by the Department of Health, to provide
matching funds to Florida counties for the purpose of
19 stimulating the development of coordinated primary health
care delivery systems for low-income,
20 non-Medicaid-eligible Floridians. Provides eligibility,
benefits, application, and local matching fund
21 requirements. Requires total 2-year grant awards to be
based on county population size. Provides legislative
22 intent to fund healthy communities, healthy people
projects and school health services as an adjunct to the
23 grant program.
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