Senate Bill sb2636c1

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    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 2636

    By the Committee on Health Care; and Senator Posey





    587-2293-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Medicaid reimbursement to

  3         nursing homes; amending s. 409.908, F.S.;

  4         requiring the Agency for Health Care

  5         Administration to establish a Nursing Home

  6         Voluntary Competitive Bid Pilot Program for

  7         certain nursing homes in two counties for a

  8         specified period; permitting licensed nursing

  9         homes to bid on rates for Medicaid certified

10         beds under certain circumstances; requiring the

11         agency to provide a list of approved bidders to

12         social service providers; requiring the agency

13         to evaluate the pilot program by a specified

14         time; requiring a report to the Governor and

15         Legislature; providing an effective date.

16  

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

18  

19         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section

20  409.908, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

21         409.908  Reimbursement of Medicaid providers.--Subject

22  to specific appropriations, the agency shall reimburse

23  Medicaid providers, in accordance with state and federal law,

24  according to methodologies set forth in the rules of the

25  agency and in policy manuals and handbooks incorporated by

26  reference therein. These methodologies may include fee

27  schedules, reimbursement methods based on cost reporting,

28  negotiated fees, competitive bidding pursuant to s. 287.057,

29  and other mechanisms the agency considers efficient and

30  effective for purchasing services or goods on behalf of

31  recipients. If a provider is reimbursed based on cost

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    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 2636
    587-2293-05




 1  reporting and submits a cost report late and that cost report

 2  would have been used to set a lower reimbursement rate for a

 3  rate semester, then the provider's rate for that semester

 4  shall be retroactively calculated using the new cost report,

 5  and full payment at the recalculated rate shall be effected

 6  retroactively. Medicare-granted extensions for filing cost

 7  reports, if applicable, shall also apply to Medicaid cost

 8  reports. Payment for Medicaid compensable services made on

 9  behalf of Medicaid eligible persons is subject to the

10  availability of moneys and any limitations or directions

11  provided for in the General Appropriations Act or chapter 216.

12  Further, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent

13  or limit the agency from adjusting fees, reimbursement rates,

14  lengths of stay, number of visits, or number of services, or

15  making any other adjustments necessary to comply with the

16  availability of moneys and any limitations or directions

17  provided for in the General Appropriations Act, provided the

18  adjustment is consistent with legislative intent.

19         (2)(a)1.  Reimbursement to nursing homes licensed under

20  part II of chapter 400 and state-owned-and-operated

21  intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled

22  licensed under chapter 393 must be made prospectively.

23         2.  Unless otherwise limited or directed in the General

24  Appropriations Act, reimbursement to hospitals licensed under

25  part I of chapter 395 for the provision of swing-bed nursing

26  home services must be made on the basis of the average

27  statewide nursing home payment, and reimbursement to a

28  hospital licensed under part I of chapter 395 for the

29  provision of skilled nursing services must be made on the

30  basis of the average nursing home payment for those services

31  in the county in which the hospital is located. When a

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    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 2636
    587-2293-05




 1  hospital is located in a county that does not have any

 2  community nursing homes, reimbursement must be determined by

 3  averaging the nursing home payments, in counties that surround

 4  the county in which the hospital is located. Reimbursement to

 5  hospitals, including Medicaid payment of Medicare copayments,

 6  for skilled nursing services shall be limited to 30 days,

 7  unless a prior authorization has been obtained from the

 8  agency. Medicaid reimbursement may be extended by the agency

 9  beyond 30 days, and approval must be based upon verification

10  by the patient's physician that the patient requires

11  short-term rehabilitative and recuperative services only, in

12  which case an extension of no more than 15 days may be

13  approved. Reimbursement to a hospital licensed under part I of

14  chapter 395 for the temporary provision of skilled nursing

15  services to nursing home residents who have been displaced as

16  the result of a natural disaster or other emergency may not

17  exceed the average county nursing home payment for those

18  services in the county in which the hospital is located and is

19  limited to the period of time which the agency considers

20  necessary for continued placement of the nursing home

21  residents in the hospital.

22         3.  The agency shall establish a Nursing Home Voluntary

23  Competitive Bid Pilot Program in two counties for a 12-month

24  period for nursing homes licensed under chapter 400 with empty

25  Medicaid certified beds. Opening bids must be at a rate below

26  existing Medicaid reimbursement rates within the catchment

27  area. All nursing homes with a standard license in the pilot

28  area can voluntarily participate in the program. A nursing

29  home may not participate in the pilot program while it has a

30  conditional license. No rules shall prohibit Medicaid

31  beneficiaries or their families from choosing among those

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    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 2636
    587-2293-05




 1  facilities that are Medicaid certified. The agency shall

 2  update and provide a list of approved bidders within the pilot

 3  areas to all social service providers in that area, including

 4  hospitals, assisted living facilities, and any entity that

 5  makes referrals to nursing homes.

 6         4.  The agency shall evaluate the pilot program after

 7  the 12-month period is completed, including an evaluation of

 8  the effectiveness of the program, the impact, if any, on

 9  quality of care, and the amount of savings to the state and

10  submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,

11  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives no later than

12  90 days after the completion of the pilot program.

13         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

14  

15          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
16                         Senate Bill 2636

17                                 

18  The committee substitute requires that the Agency for Health
    Care Administration (AHCA) establish a competitive bid pilot
19  program for nursing homes with empty Medicaid beds in two
    counties for a 12-month period. It allows voluntary
20  participation in the program. It also requires AHCA to
    evaluate the pilot program after the 12-month period is
21  complete.

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