Senate Bill sb0696c2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida Senate - 2003                     CS for CS for SB 696

    By the Committees on Appropriations; Health, Aging, and
    Long-Term Care; and Senator Saunders




    309-2546-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to indigent health care;

  3         creating s. 154.317, F.S.; establishing

  4         reimbursement procedures and guidelines for the

  5         reimbursement of trauma centers by counties;

  6         providing for the payment and use of certain

  7         funds; providing an effective date.

  8  

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

10  

11         Section 1.  Section 154.317, Florida Statutes, is

12  created to read:

13         154.317  County financial responsibility for trauma

14  care.--

15         (1)  Notwithstanding ss. 154.301-154.316, each county

16  shall participate in supporting a regionalized system of

17  trauma care which provides reimbursement to hospitals that are

18  trauma centers, approved in accordance with s. 395.4025.

19  Financial responsibility shall be limited to uninsured or

20  underinsured inpatients with primary or secondary diagnoses of

21  DRG 484-487. For purposes of this section, the term,

22  "underinsured" means insurance coverage for a person who is an

23  inpatient which is inadequate to cover the cost of that

24  patient's care.

25         (2)  Payment levels may not exceed the statewide

26  average cost per trauma patient in each level of designated

27  trauma center. Initial payment rates, subject to annual

28  updates by the Agency for Health Care Administration are:

29         (a)  Level I: $14,000 per trauma patient;

30         (b)  Level II: $9,000 per trauma patient; and

31         (c)  Pediatric: $6,000 per trauma patient.

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    Florida Senate - 2003                     CS for CS for SB 696
    309-2546-03




 1         (3)  Counties shall be designated as responsible for

 2  payment if:

 3         (a)  The county of residence has unspent funds received

 4  under this part at the end of the fiscal year in which the

 5  hospitalization occurs.

 6         (b)  The responsible county is exempt based on the

 7  following criteria:

 8         1.  The county population in the most recent United

 9  States Census totals fewer than 30,000 residents and the

10  proportion of county residents with incomes below the poverty

11  level exceeds 20 percent;

12         2.  The property tax rate, including special districts

13  and municipal service taxes, of the county equals or exceeds

14  10 mills; or

15         3.  The responsible county is currently contributing to

16  the financial support of a regional trauma system through

17  direct funding of trauma care, tax district support for

18  hospitals in the county designated as trauma centers, or under

19  the terms of an intergovernmental agreement with other

20  counties in the trauma region or a written agreement with the

21  nearest trauma center.

22         (c)  Residence in the county at the time of the

23  hospitalization is verified by:

24         1.  Current active driver's license;

25         2.  Mortgage, lease, or rental receipt or letter from a

26  landlord;

27         3.  Water, electric, or other public utility bill in

28  the name of the patient or a family member at a residential

29  address within the county;

30         4.  A state, county, or federal document mailed to the

31  patient at a residential address within the county;

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    Florida Senate - 2003                     CS for CS for SB 696
    309-2546-03




 1         5.  Vehicle registration in the name of the patient or

 2  a family member at a residential address within the county;

 3         6.  Voter registration; or

 4         7.  Proof of children enrolled in public schools within

 5  the county.

 6         (4)  Each county shall pay the amount specified in this

 7  section, as determined by the Agency for Health Care

 8  Administration, into the Medicaid Grants and Donations Trust

 9  Fund. These funds shall be used in special Medicaid payments

10  to enhance the public funds available for federal matching

11  purposes. The total special Medicaid payments funded by these

12  county payments shall be paid to state-approved trauma centers

13  and shall be distributed in accordance with the General

14  Appropriations Act or other legislation related to

15  appropriations.

16         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

17  

18          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
19                      CS for Senate Bill 696

20                                 

21  The Committee Substitute removes Section 1 of the bill that
    increases the annual cap from $4 to $6 per capita which is
22  used to establish a county's maximum financial obligation.

23  Requires counties to pay funds into the Grants and Donations
    Trust Fund. The Agency for Health Care Administration must
24  distribute these funds for special Medicaid payments to
    state-approved trauma centers in accordance with the General
25  Appropriations Act or other legislation.

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