HB 0779

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to substance abuse treatment; amending s.
3397.311, F.S.; including intensive inpatient treatment
4within the service components provided by a licensed
5service provider; defining the term "medical monitoring";
6amending s. 212.055, F.S., relating to the county public
7hospital surtax; conforming a cross reference; reenacting
8ss. 397.405(8) and 397.407(1), F.S., relating to treatment
9providers, to incorporate the amendment to s. 397.311,
10F.S., in references thereto; amending ss. 397.416 and
11440.102, F.S., relating to treatment services and the
12drug-free workplace program; conforming cross references;
13providing an effective date.
14
15Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17     Section 1.  Subsection (18) of section 397.311, Florida
18Statutes, is amended, present subsections (19) through (29) of
19that section are redesignated as subsections (20) through (30),
20respectively, and a new subsection (19) is added to that
21section, to read:
22     397.311  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, except part
23VIII:
24     (18)  "Licensed service provider" means a public agency
25under this chapter, a private for-profit or not-for-profit
26agency under this chapter, a physician or any other private
27practitioner licensed under this chapter, or a hospital that
28offers substance abuse impairment services through one or more
29of the following licensable service components:
30     (a)  Addictions receiving facility, which is a community-
31based facility designated by the department to receive, screen,
32and assess clients found to be substance abuse impaired, in need
33of emergency treatment for substance abuse impairment, or
34impaired by substance abuse to such an extent as to meet the
35criteria for involuntary admission in s. 397.675, and to provide
36detoxification and stabilization.  An addictions receiving
37facility must be state-owned, state-operated, or state-
38contracted, and licensed pursuant to rules adopted by the
39department's Substance Abuse Program Office which include
40specific authorization for the provision of levels of care and a
41requirement of separate accommodations for adults and minors.
42Addictions receiving facilities are designated as secure
43facilities to provide an intensive level of care and must have
44sufficient staff and the authority to provide environmental
45security to handle aggressive and difficult-to-manage behavior
46and deter elopement.
47     (b)  Detoxification, which uses medical and psychological
48procedures and a supportive counseling regimen to assist clients
49in managing toxicity and withdrawing and stabilizing from the
50physiological and psychological effects of substance abuse
51impairment.
52     (c)  Intensive inpatient treatment, which includes a
53planned regimen of professionally directed evaluation,
54observation, medical monitoring, and clinical protocols provided
5524 hours per day, 7 days per week in a highly structured, live-
56in environment.
57     (d)(c)  Residential treatment, which provides a structured,
58live-in environment within a nonhospital setting on a 24-hours-
59a-day, 7-days-a-week basis, and which includes:
60     1.  Facilities that provide room and board and treatment
61and rehabilitation within the primary residential facility; and
62     2.  Facilities that are used for room and board only and in
63which treatment and rehabilitation activities are provided on a
64mandatory basis at locations other than the primary residential
65facility. In this case, facilities used for room and board and
66for treatment and rehabilitation are operated under the auspices
67of the same provider, and licensing and regulatory requirements
68would apply to both the residential facility and all other
69facilities in which treatment and rehabilitation activities
70occur.
71     (e)(d)  Day and night treatment, which provides a
72nonresidential environment with a structured schedule of
73treatment and rehabilitation services.
74     (f)(e)  Outpatient treatment, which provides individual,
75group, or family counseling for clients by appointment during
76scheduled operating hours, with an emphasis on assessment and
77treatment.
78     (g)(f)  Medication and methadone maintenance treatment that
79uses methadone or other medication as authorized by state and
80federal law, in conjunction with medical, rehabilitative, and
81counseling services in the treatment of clients who are
82dependent upon opioid drugs.
83     (h)(g)  Prevention, which is a process involving strategies
84aimed at the individual, the environment, or the substance,
85which strategies preclude, forestall, or impede the development
86of substance abuse problems and promote responsible personal and
87social growth of individuals and families toward full human
88potential.
89     (i)(h)  Intervention, which consists of structured services
90targeted toward individuals or groups at risk and focused on
91reducing those factors associated with the onset or the early
92stages of substance abuse, and related problems.
93     (19)  "Medical monitoring" means oversight and treatment,
94provided 24 hours per day by medical personnel who are licensed
95under chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 464, of clients whose
96subacute biomedical, emotional, psychosocial, behavioral, or
97cognitive problems are so severe that the clients require
98intensive inpatient treatment by an interdisciplinary team.
99     Section 2.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (5) of section
100212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
101     212.055  Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
102authorization and use of proceeds.--It is the legislative intent
103that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
104surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
105subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
106levy.  Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
107authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
108maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
109procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
110required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
111and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.  
112Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
113provided in s. 212.054.
114     (5)  COUNTY PUBLIC HOSPITAL SURTAX.--Any county as defined
115in s. 125.011(1) may levy the surtax authorized in this
116subsection pursuant to an ordinance either approved by
117extraordinary vote of the county commission or conditioned to
118take effect only upon approval by a majority vote of the
119electors of the county voting in a referendum.  In a county as
120defined in s. 125.011(1), for the purposes of this subsection,
121"county public general hospital" means a general hospital as
122defined in s. 395.002 which is owned, operated, maintained, or
123governed by the county or its agency, authority, or public
124health trust.
125     (e)  A governing board, agency, or authority shall be
126chartered by the county commission upon this act becoming law.
127The governing board, agency, or authority shall adopt and
128implement a health care plan for indigent health care services.
129 The governing board, agency, or authority shall consist of no
130more than seven and no fewer than five members appointed by the
131county commission.  The members of the governing board, agency,
132or authority shall be at least 18 years of age and residents of
133the county.  No member may be employed by or affiliated with a
134health care provider or the public health trust, agency, or
135authority responsible for the county public general hospital.
136The following community organizations shall each appoint a
137representative to a nominating committee:  the South Florida
138Hospital and Healthcare Association, the Miami-Dade County
139Public Health Trust, the Dade County Medical Association, the
140Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, and the Mayor of Miami-Dade
141County. This committee shall nominate between 10 and 14 county
142citizens for the governing board, agency, or authority.  The
143slate shall be presented to the county commission and the county
144commission shall confirm the top five to seven nominees,
145depending on the size of the governing board.  Until such time
146as the governing board, agency, or authority is created, the
147funds provided for in subparagraph (d)2. shall be placed in a
148restricted account set aside from other county funds and not
149disbursed by the county for any other purpose.
150     1.  The plan shall divide the county into a minimum of four
151and maximum of six service areas, with no more than one
152participant hospital per service area. The county public general
153hospital shall be designated as the provider for one of the
154service areas.  Services shall be provided through participants'
155primary acute care facilities.
156     2.  The plan and subsequent amendments to it shall fund a
157defined range of health care services for both indigent persons
158and the medically poor, including primary care, preventive care,
159hospital emergency room care, and hospital care necessary to
160stabilize the patient. For the purposes of this section,
161"stabilization" means stabilization as defined in s. 397.311(30)
162s. 397.311(29). Where consistent with these objectives, the plan
163may include services rendered by physicians, clinics, community
164hospitals, and alternative delivery sites, as well as at least
165one regional referral hospital per service area. The plan shall
166provide that agreements negotiated between the governing board,
167agency, or authority and providers shall recognize hospitals
168that render a disproportionate share of indigent care, provide
169other incentives to promote the delivery of charity care to draw
170down federal funds where appropriate, and require cost
171containment, including, but not limited to, case management.
172From the funds specified in subparagraphs (d)1. and 2. for
173indigent health care services, service providers shall receive
174reimbursement at a Medicaid rate to be determined by the
175governing board, agency, or authority created pursuant to this
176paragraph for the initial emergency room visit, and a per-member
177per-month fee or capitation for those members enrolled in their
178service area, as compensation for the services rendered
179following the initial emergency visit. Except for provisions of
180emergency services, upon determination of eligibility,
181enrollment shall be deemed to have occurred at the time services
182were rendered. The provisions for specific reimbursement of
183emergency services shall be repealed on July 1, 2001, unless
184otherwise reenacted by the Legislature. The capitation amount or
185rate shall be determined prior to program implementation by an
186independent actuarial consultant. In no event shall such
187reimbursement rates exceed the Medicaid rate. The plan must also
188provide that any hospitals owned and operated by government
189entities on or after the effective date of this act must, as a
190condition of receiving funds under this subsection, afford
191public access equal to that provided under s. 286.011 as to any
192meeting of the governing board, agency, or authority the subject
193of which is budgeting resources for the retention of charity
194care, as that term is defined in the rules of the Agency for
195Health Care Administration. The plan shall also include
196innovative health care programs that provide cost-effective
197alternatives to traditional methods of service and delivery
198funding.
199     3.  The plan's benefits shall be made available to all
200county residents currently eligible to receive health care
201services as indigents or medically poor as defined in paragraph
202(4)(d).
203     4.  Eligible residents who participate in the health care
204plan shall receive coverage for a period of 12 months or the
205period extending from the time of enrollment to the end of the
206current fiscal year, per enrollment period, whichever is less.
207     5.  At the end of each fiscal year, the governing board,
208agency, or authority shall prepare an audit that reviews the
209budget of the plan, delivery of services, and quality of
210services, and makes recommendations to increase the plan's
211efficiency.  The audit shall take into account participant
212hospital satisfaction with the plan and assess the amount of
213poststabilization patient transfers requested, and accepted or
214denied, by the county public general hospital.
215     Section 3.  For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
216made by this act to section 397.311, Florida Statutes, in a
217reference thereto, subsection (8) of section 397.405, Florida
218Statutes, is reenacted to read:
219     397.405  Exemptions from licensure.--The following are
220exempt from the licensing provisions of this chapter:
221     (8)  An established and legally cognizable church or
222nonprofit religious organization or denomination providing
223substance abuse services, including prevention services, which
224are exclusively religious, spiritual, or ecclesiastical in
225nature.  A church or nonprofit religious organization or
226denomination providing any of the licensable service components
227itemized under s. 397.311(18) is not exempt for purposes of its
228provision of such licensable service components but retains its
229exemption with respect to all services which are exclusively
230religious, spiritual, or ecclesiastical in nature.
231     Section 4.  For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
232made by this act to section 397.311, Florida Statutes, in a
233reference thereto, subsection (1) of section 397.407, Florida
234Statutes, is reenacted to read:
235     397.407  Licensure fees.--
236     (1)  The department shall establish licensure fees by rule.
237 The rule must prescribe a fee range that is based, at least in
238part, on the number and complexity of programs listed in s.
239397.311(18) which are operated by a licensee.  The fee range
240must be implemented over a 5-year period.  The fee schedule for
241licensure of service components must be increased annually in
242substantially equal increments so that, by July 1, 1998, the
243fees from the licensure of service components are sufficient to
244cover at least 50 percent of the costs of regulating the service
245components.  The department shall specify by rule a fee range
246and phase-in plan for privately funded licensed service
247providers and a fee range and phase-in plan for publicly funded
248licensed service providers.  Fees for privately funded licensed
249service providers must exceed the fees for publicly funded
250licensed service providers.  The first year phase-in licensure
251fees must be at least $150 per initial license. The rule must
252provide for a reduction in licensure fees for licensed service
253providers who hold more than one license.
254     Section 5.  Subsection (2) of section 397.416, Florida
255Statutes, is amended to read:
256     397.416  Substance abuse treatment services; qualified
257professional.--
258     (2)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person
259who was certified through a certification process recognized by
260the former Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services
261before January 1, 1995, may perform the duties of a qualified
262professional with respect to substance abuse treatment services
263as defined in this chapter, and need not meet the certification
264requirements contained in s. 397.311(25) s. 397.311(24).
265     Section 6.  Paragraphs (d) and (g) of subsection (1) of
266section 440.102, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
267     440.102  Drug-free workplace program requirements.--The
268following provisions apply to a drug-free workplace program
269implemented pursuant to law or to rules adopted by the Agency
270for Health Care Administration:
271     (1)  DEFINITIONS.--Except where the context otherwise
272requires, as used in this act:
273     (d)  "Drug rehabilitation program" means a service
274provider, established pursuant to s. 397.311(28) s. 397.311(27),
275that provides confidential, timely, and expert identification,
276assessment, and resolution of employee drug abuse.
277     (g)  "Employee assistance program" means an established
278program capable of providing expert assessment of employee
279personal concerns; confidential and timely identification
280services with regard to employee drug abuse; referrals of
281employees for appropriate diagnosis, treatment, and assistance;
282and followup services for employees who participate in the
283program or require monitoring after returning to work. If, in
284addition to the above activities, an employee assistance program
285provides diagnostic and treatment services, these services shall
286in all cases be provided by service providers pursuant to s.
287397.311(28) s. 397.311(27).
288     Section 7.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.