House Bill hb1137
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1137
By Representative Rich
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to children; amending s.
3 624.91, F.S.; eliminating local matching fund
4 requirements under the Florida Healthy Kids
5 program; providing intent that voluntary local
6 contributions to the program may be used for
7 children not otherwise eligible for certain
8 medical assistance; providing an effective
9 date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
14 624.91, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (b) of subsection (4)
15 of said section as amended by section 20 of chapter 2001-377,
16 Laws of Florida, are amended to read:
17 624.91 The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation Act.--
18 (2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--
19 (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
20 Florida Healthy Kids Corporation serve as one of several
21 providers of services to children eligible for medical
22 assistance under Title XXI of the Social Security Act.
23 Although the corporation may serve other children, the
24 Legislature intends the primary recipients of services
25 provided through the corporation be school-age children with a
26 family income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level,
27 who do not qualify for Medicaid. It is also the intent of the
28 Legislature that state and local voluntarily contributed
29 government Florida Healthy Kids funds may be used to provide
30 services to children who are not eligible for medical
31
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1137
790-111-02
1 assistance under Title XXI, to the extent permissible under
2 federal law, be used to obtain matching federal dollars.
3 (4) CORPORATION AUTHORIZATION, DUTIES, POWERS.--
4 (b) The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation shall phase
5 in a program to:
6 1. Organize school children groups to facilitate the
7 provision of comprehensive health insurance coverage to
8 children;
9 2. Arrange for the collection of any family, voluntary
10 local contributions, or employer payment or premium, in an
11 amount to be determined by the board of directors, to provide
12 for payment of premiums for comprehensive insurance coverage
13 and for the actual or estimated administrative expenses;
14 3. Establish the administrative and accounting
15 procedures for the operation of the corporation;
16 4. Establish, with consultation from appropriate
17 professional organizations, standards for preventive health
18 services and providers and comprehensive insurance benefits
19 appropriate to children; provided that such standards for
20 rural areas shall not limit primary care providers to
21 board-certified pediatricians;
22 5. Establish eligibility criteria which children must
23 meet in order to participate in the program;
24 6. Establish procedures under which applicants to and
25 participants in the program may have grievances reviewed by an
26 impartial body and reported to the board of directors of the
27 corporation;
28 7. Establish participation criteria and, if
29 appropriate, contract with an authorized insurer, health
30 maintenance organization, or insurance administrator to
31 provide administrative services to the corporation;
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1137
790-111-02
1 8. Establish enrollment criteria which shall include
2 penalties or waiting periods of not fewer than 60 days for
3 reinstatement of coverage upon voluntary cancellation for
4 nonpayment of family premiums;
5 9. If a space is available, establish a special open
6 enrollment period of 30 days' duration for any child who is
7 enrolled in Medicaid or Medikids if such child loses Medicaid
8 or Medikids eligibility and becomes eligible for the Florida
9 Healthy Kids program;
10 10. Contract with authorized insurers or any provider
11 of health care services, meeting standards established by the
12 corporation, for the provision of comprehensive insurance
13 coverage to participants. Such standards shall include
14 criteria under which the corporation may contract with more
15 than one provider of health care services in program sites.
16 Health plans shall be selected through a competitive bid
17 process. The selection of health plans shall be based
18 primarily on quality criteria established by the board. The
19 health plan selection criteria and scoring system, and the
20 scoring results, shall be available upon request for
21 inspection after the bids have been awarded;
22 11. Develop and implement a plan to publicize the
23 Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, the eligibility requirements
24 of the program, and the procedures for enrollment in the
25 program and to maintain public awareness of the corporation
26 and the program;
27 12. Secure staff necessary to properly administer the
28 corporation. Staff costs shall be funded from state and local
29 matching funds and such other private or public funds as
30 become available. The board of directors shall determine the
31
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1137
790-111-02
1 number of staff members necessary to administer the
2 corporation;
3 13. As appropriate, enter into contracts with local
4 school boards or other agencies to provide onsite information,
5 enrollment, and other services necessary to the operation of
6 the corporation;
7 14. Provide a report on an annual basis to the
8 Governor, Insurance Commissioner, Commissioner of Education,
9 Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
10 Minority Leaders of the Senate and the House of
11 Representatives;
12 15. Each fiscal year, establish a maximum number of
13 participants by county, on a statewide basis, who may enroll
14 in the program without the benefit of local matching funds.
15 Thereafter, the corporation may establish local matching
16 requirements for supplemental participation in the program.
17 The corporation may vary local matching requirements and
18 enrollment by county depending on factors which may influence
19 the generation of local match, including, but not limited to,
20 population density, per capita income, existing local tax
21 effort, and other factors. The corporation also may accept
22 in-kind match in lieu of cash for the local match requirement
23 to the extent allowed by Title XXI of the Social Security Act;
24 15.16. Establish eligibility criteria, premium and
25 cost-sharing requirements, and benefit packages which conform
26 to the provisions of the Florida Kidcare program, as created
27 in ss. 409.810-409.820; and
28 16.17. Notwithstanding the requirements of
29 subparagraph 15. to the contrary, Establish a local matching
30 requirement of $0.00 for the Title XXI program in each county
31 of the state for the 2001-2002 fiscal year. This subparagraph
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1137
790-111-02
1 shall take effect upon becoming a law and shall operate
2 retroactively to July 1, 2001. This subparagraph expires July
3 1, 2002.
4 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.
5
6 *****************************************
7 HOUSE SUMMARY
8
Eliminates local matching fund requirements under the
9 Florida Healthy Kids program. Provides legislative intent
that voluntary local contributions to the program may be
10 used to provide services to children who are not eligible
for medical assistance under Title XXI of the Social
11 Security Act.
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
5
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.