House Bill 4283c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 4283

        By the Committee on Elder Affairs & Long Term Care and
    Representatives Peaden and Jacobs





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to long-term care; creating s.

  3         430.801, F.S.; creating the Florida Employee

  4         Long-Term-Care Plan Act; directing the

  5         Department of Elderly Affairs to develop,

  6         implement, and administer the long-term care

  7         plan for public employees; authorizing the

  8         department to contract for such administration;

  9         providing duties of the department; requiring

10         the department to appoint a Florida Employee

11         Long-Term-Care Plan Advisory Council for

12         certain purposes; authorizing the department to

13         contract with the State Board of Administration

14         to invest certain funds; providing limitations;

15         creating a Florida Employee Long-Term-Care Plan

16         Board of Directors; providing for board

17         membership and duties; providing trustees'

18         duties, powers, and responsibilities; requiring

19         an annual report; providing for terms of

20         trustees; providing for expenses of the board

21         of trustees; prohibiting use of state funds for

22         certain costs; providing an effective date.

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24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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26         Section 1.  Section 430.801, Florida Statutes, is

27  created to read:

28         430.801  Florida Employee Long-Term-Care Plan Act.--

29         (1)  The Legislature finds that state expenditures for

30  long-term-care services continue to increase at a rapid rate

31  and that the state faces increasing pressure in its efforts to

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 4283

    173-956-98






  1  meet the long-term-care needs of the public. It is the intent

  2  of the Legislature that:

  3         (a)  The Department of Elderly Affairs implement a

  4  self-funded voluntary long-term-care plan for public employees

  5  and their families.

  6         (b)  The department shall design the plan to provide

  7  long-term-care coverage for public employees and family

  8  members of public employees. Eligible plan participants must

  9  include active and retired officers and employees of all

10  branches and agencies of state and local government and their

11  spouses, children, stepchildren, parents, and parents-in-law;

12  active and retired federal employees residing in the state and

13  their spouses, children, stepchildren, parents, and

14  parents-in-law residing in the state; and the surviving

15  spouses, children, stepchildren, parents, and parents-in-law

16  of such deceased officers and employees, whether active or

17  retired at the time of death.

18         (c)  The Florida Employee Long-Term-Care Plan is not

19  subject to chapter 624, chapter 625, chapter 626, or chapter

20  627 or the rules of the Department of Insurance.

21         (2)  As used in this section, the term:

22         (a)  "Department" means the Department of Elderly

23  Affairs.

24         (b)  "Self-funded" means that plan benefits and costs

25  are funded from contributions made by or on behalf of

26  participants and trust fund investment revenue.

27         (c)  "Plan" means the Florida Employee Long-Term-Care

28  Plan.

29         (3)  The department shall, in consultation with public

30  employees and representatives from unions and associations

31  representing state, university, local government, and other

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 4283

    173-956-98






  1  public employees, establish and supervise the implementation

  2  and administration of a self-funded, long-term-care plan

  3  entitled "Florida Employee Long-Term-Care Plan."

  4         (a)  The department shall, in consultation with the

  5  Division of State Group Insurance, the Department of

  6  Management Services, and the Department of Insurance, contract

  7  for actuarial, professional-administrator, and other services

  8  for the Florida Employee Long-Term-Care Plan.

  9         (b)  When contracting for a professional administrator,

10  the department shall consider, at a minimum, the entity's

11  previous experience and expertise in administering group

12  long-term-care insurance programs; the entity's demonstrated

13  ability to perform its contractual obligations in the state

14  and in other jurisdictions; the entity's projected

15  administrative costs; the entity's capability to adequately

16  provide service coverage, including a sufficient number of

17  experienced and qualified personnel in the areas of marketing,

18  claims processing, recordkeeping, and underwriting; the

19  entity's accessibility to public employees and other qualified

20  participants; and the entity's financial soundness and

21  solvency.

22         (c)  Any contract with a professional administrator

23  entered into by the department must require that the state be

24  held harmless and indemnified for any financial loss caused by

25  the failure of the professional administrator to comply with

26  the terms of the contract.

27         (d)  The department shall explore innovations in

28  long-term-care financing and service delivery with regard to

29  possible future inclusion in the plan. Such innovative

30  financing and service-delivery mechanisms may include managed

31  long-term care and plans that set aside assets with regard to

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 4283

    173-956-98






  1  eligibility for Medicaid-funded long-term-care services in the

  2  same proportion that private long-term care insurance benefits

  3  are used to pay for long-term care.

  4         (4)  The department shall appoint a Florida Employee

  5  Long-Term-Care Plan Advisory Council to assist in designing

  6  and marketing the plan. The advisory council shall be composed

  7  of representatives of public employers and representatives of

  8  other eligible participants, not to exceed 12 members. Council

  9  members may not be reimbursed for travel and other expenses

10  related to their duties from department funds, but they may be

11  reimbursed from funds of the plan.

12         (5)  The department shall contract with the State Board

13  of Administration for the investment of funds in the Florida

14  Employee Long-Term-Care Plan reserve fund. Plan contributions

15  collected and not required to pay the costs of the plan are

16  held on behalf of and for the benefit of the enrollees, and

17  are not state funds. The moneys shall be held by the State

18  Board of Administration on behalf of enrollees and invested in

19  accordance with a trust agreement approved by the department

20  and the State Board of Administration and in accordance with

21  the provisions of ss. 215.44-215.53. Moneys in the trust fund

22  may be used only for the purposes specified in the trust

23  agreement.

24         (6)  A Florida Employee Long-term Care Plan Board of

25  Directors, is created, composed of 7 members, appointed as

26  follows:

27         (a)  The Secretary of the Department of Elderly Affairs

28  shall appoint a member who is a plan participant.

29         (b)  The Florida Employee Long-Term Care Plan Advisory

30  Council shall appoint one of its members.

31         (c)  The Treasurer shall appoint an actuary.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 4283

    173-956-98






  1         (d)  The Attorney General shall appoint an attorney

  2  licensed to practice law in this state.

  3         (e)  The Governor, the Speaker of the House of

  4  Representatives, and the President of the Senate each shall

  5  appoint a member from a broad cross-section of the residents

  6  of this state.

  7         (7)  The board of directors of the Florida Long-term

  8  Care Plan shall:

  9         (a)  Prepare an annual report of the plan with the

10  assistance of an actuarial consultant to be submitted to the

11  Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the

12  Senate, and the Governor.

13         (b)  Approve the Secretary's appointment of an

14  executive director to serve as the chief administrative and

15  operational officer of the Florida Employee Long-term Care

16  Plan.

17         (c)  Approve the terms of the department's third party

18  administrator contract.

19         (d)  Implement such other policies and procedures as

20  necessary to assure the soundness and efficient operation of

21  the plan.

22         (8)  The trust's board of trustees' duties,

23  responsibilities, and powers shall be as specified in the

24  Florida Employee Long-Term-Care Plan Trust; however, at a

25  minimum, the trustees shall submit an annual report prepared

26  with the assistance of an actuarial consultant, to the

27  Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the

28  President of the Senate, the Secretary of Elderly Affairs, and

29  the minority leaders of the Senate and the House of

30  Representatives.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 4283

    173-956-98






  1         (9)  Each Trustee shall be appointed for a 2-year term

  2  and may be reappointed for one additional 2-year term.

  3         (10)  Members of the board of trustees may not receive

  4  a salary, but may be reimbursed for travel, per diem, and

  5  administrative expenses related to their duties. Trustee

  6  expenses and costs for the annual report and other

  7  administrative expenses must be borne by the plan. State funds

  8  may not be contributed toward costs associated with board

  9  members or their activities conducted on behalf of and for the

10  benefit of trust beneficiaries.

11         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

12  law.

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