Senate Bill sb1412

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1412

    By the Committee on Health Care





    587-946-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Medicaid fraud and abuse;

  3         creating s. 409.9135, F.S.; requiring that

  4         managed care organizations providing or

  5         arranging services for Medicaid recipients

  6         establish and maintain special investigative

  7         units; requiring each managed care organization

  8         to submit a plan for detecting and preventing

  9         fraud and abuse within the Medicaid program to

10         the Agency for Health Care Administration;

11         specifying requirements that must be met if a

12         managed care organization contracts with

13         another entity to conduct activities to detect

14         and prevent fraud and abuse; authorizing the

15         Office of the Inspector General in the agency

16         to review records and determine compliance with

17         the act; requiring managed care organizations

18         to file a report with the Office of the

19         Inspector General if a fraudulent or abusive

20         act is suspected; specifying the information to

21         be included in a report of suspected fraud or

22         abuse; providing civil immunity to any person

23         or entity that reports suspected fraud or abuse

24         in good faith to the agency or a law

25         enforcement entity; authorizing designated

26         staff of a managed care organization to share

27         information concerning suspected fraud or

28         abuse; providing rulemaking authority;

29         requiring the agency to create a system to

30         validate information collected by a Medicaid

31         encounter-data system; requiring that the

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1412
    587-946-06




 1         agency report on its efforts to coordinate

 2         anti-fraud and abuse systems related to managed

 3         care organizations to the Governor and the

 4         Legislature; providing an effective date.

 5  

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

 7  

 8         Section 1.  Section 409.9135, Florida Statutes, is

 9  created to read:

10         409.9135  Medicaid managed care organizations' special

11  investigative units or contracts; plans to prevent or reduce

12  fraud and abuse.--Each managed care organization that provides

13  or arranges for the provision of health care services to

14  Medicaid recipients under this chapter shall establish and

15  maintain a special investigative unit to investigate

16  fraudulent claims and other types of program abuse by

17  recipients and service providers. A managed care organization

18  may contract with another entity for the investigation of

19  fraudulent claims and other types of program abuse by

20  recipients and service providers. As used in this section, the

21  terms "abuse," "fraud," and "overpayment" have the same

22  meanings as in s. 409.913.

23         (1)  Each managed care organization shall adopt a plan

24  to prevent and reduce fraud and abuse and annually file that

25  plan with the Office of the Inspector General in the agency

26  for approval. The plan must include:

27         (a)  A general description of the managed care

28  organization's procedures for detecting and investigating

29  possible acts of fraud, abuse, or overpayment;

30         (b)  A description of the managed care organization's

31  procedures for the mandatory reporting of possible acts of

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1412
    587-946-06




 1  fraud or abuse to the Office of the Inspector General in the

 2  agency;

 3         (c)  A description of the managed care organization's

 4  procedures for educating and training personnel on how to

 5  detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or overpayment;

 6         (d)  The name, address, telephone number, and fax

 7  number of the individual responsible for carrying out the

 8  plan;

 9         (e)  A description or chart outlining the

10  organizational arrangement of the managed care organization's

11  personnel who are responsible for investigating and reporting

12  possible acts of fraud, abuse, or overpayment;

13         (f)  A summary of the results of investigations of

14  fraud, abuse, or overpayment which were conducted during the

15  past year by the managed care organization's special

16  investigative unit or its contractor; and

17         (g)  Provisions for maintaining the confidentiality of

18  any patient information that is relevant to an investigation

19  of fraud, abuse, or overpayment.

20         (2)  If a managed care organization contracts for the

21  investigation of fraudulent claims and other types of program

22  abuse by recipients or service providers, the managed care

23  organization shall file the following with the Office of the

24  Inspector General in the agency.

25         (a)  A copy of the written contract between the managed

26  care organization and the contracting entity;

27         (b)  The names, addresses, telephone numbers, and fax

28  numbers of the principals of the entity with which the managed

29  care organization has contracted; and

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31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1412
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 1         (c)  A description of the qualifications of the

 2  principals of the entity with which the managed care

 3  organization has contracted.

 4         (3)  The Office of the Inspector General in the agency

 5  may review the records of a managed care organization in order

 6  to determine compliance with this section.

 7         (4)(a)  Upon detection of a potential or suspected

 8  fraudulent or abusive act by a provider or a recipient, the

 9  managed care organization shall file a report with the Office

10  of the Inspector General in the agency. At a minimum, the

11  report must contain the name of the provider or recipient, the

12  provider's Medicaid billing number or tax identification

13  number or the Medicaid recipient's identification number, and

14  a description of the suspected fraudulent or abusive act.

15         (b)  Upon receipt of the report, the Office of the

16  Inspector General in the agency shall direct the report to the

17  appropriate investigative unit, including the agency's Bureau

18  of Program Integrity, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the

19  Office of the Attorney General, or the Department of Law

20  Enforcement.

21         (5)  In the absence of fraud or bad faith, a person or

22  managed care organization is not subject to civil liability

23  for libel, slander, or any other relevant tort for filing a

24  report, without malice, or furnishing other information,

25  without malice, which is required by this section or required

26  by the agency under the authority granted in this section, and

27  no civil cause of action of any nature shall arise against

28  such person or managed care organization for:

29         (a)  Any information relating to suspected fraudulent

30  or abusive acts, or persons suspected of engaging in such

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1412
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 1  acts, which is furnished to or received from law enforcement

 2  officials, their agents, or employees;

 3         (b)  Any information relating to suspected fraudulent

 4  or abusive acts, or persons suspected of engaging in such

 5  acts, which is furnished to or received from other persons

 6  subject to the provisions of this chapter;

 7         (c)  Any such information furnished in reports to the

 8  agency, the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of

 9  Law Enforcement, or any other local, state, or federal law

10  enforcement officials or their agents or employees; or

11         (d)  Other actions taken in cooperation with any of the

12  agencies or individuals specified in this subsection in the

13  lawful investigation of suspected fraudulent or abusive acts.

14         (6)  In addition to the immunity granted in subsection

15  (5), persons identified as designated employees or contractors

16  whose responsibilities include the investigation and

17  disposition of claims relating to suspected fraudulent or

18  abusive acts may share information relating to persons

19  suspected of committing fraudulent or abusive acts with other

20  designated employees or contractors of the same or other

21  managed care organizations whose responsibilities include the

22  investigation and disposition of claims relating to fraudulent

23  or abusive acts; however, the agency must have been given

24  written notice of the names and job titles of such designated

25  employees or contractors before the designated employees or

26  contractors share information. Unless the designated employees

27  or contractors of the managed care organizations act in bad

28  faith or in reckless disregard for the rights of any recipient

29  or provider, the managed care organization and its designated

30  employees or contractors are not civilly liable for libel,

31  slander, or any other relevant tort, and a civil action does

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1412
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 1  not arise against the managed care organization or its

 2  designated employees or contractors for any information

 3  related to suspected fraudulent or abusive acts which is

 4  provided to another managed care organization. The qualified

 5  immunity against civil liability conferred on any managed care

 6  organization or its designated employees or contractors shall

 7  be forfeited with respect to the publication of any defamatory

 8  information or its exchange with third persons who are not

 9  expressly authorized by this subsection to share in such

10  information.

11         (7)  This section does not abrogate or modify in any

12  way any common-law or statutory privilege or immunity

13  heretofore enjoyed by any person.

14         (8)  The agency may adopt rules as necessary to

15  administer this section.

16         Section 2.  The Agency for Health Care Administration

17  shall develop and implement a methodology to validate the

18  information that is collected by any encounter-data-reporting

19  system and used for tracking the services provided to Medicaid

20  recipients through managed care organizations. This validation

21  methodology shall assess whether the encounter-data-reporting

22  system accurately reflects:

23         (1)  The demographic characteristics of the patient.

24         (2)  The principal, secondary, and tertiary diagnosis.

25         (3)  The procedure performed.

26         (4)  The date and location where the procedure was

27  performed.

28         (5)  The payment for the procedure, if any.

29         (6)  If applicable, the health care practitioner's

30  universal identification number.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1412
    587-946-06




 1         (7)  If the health care practitioner rendering the

 2  service is a dependent practitioner, the modifiers appropriate

 3  to indicate that the service was delivered by the dependent

 4  practitioner.

 5         (8)  Prescription drugs for each type of patient

 6  encounter.

 7         (9)  Appropriate information related to health care

 8  costs and utilization from managed care plans.

 9         Section 3.  The Agency for Health Care Administration

10  shall report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and

11  the Speaker of the House of Representatives by November 1,

12  2006, on how the agency is coordinating its internal

13  anti-fraud and abuse-prevention and detection systems as they

14  apply to managed care organizations. This report must include

15  a description of how information is coordinated and shared

16  among managed care organizations, the agency, and other

17  governmental entities that are responsible for preventing,

18  detecting, and prosecuting Medicaid provider and recipient

19  fraud or abuse.

20         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1412
    587-946-06




 1            *****************************************

 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Requires managed care organizations that provide or
      arrange services for Medicaid recipients to establish and
 4    maintain special investigative units. Requires managed
      care organizations to submit plans for detecting and
 5    preventing fraud and abuse to the Agency for Health Care
      Administration. Provides for the Office of the Inspector
 6    General in the agency to review records and determine
      compliance with the act. Requires managed care
 7    organizations to report fraud and abuse to the Office of
      the Inspector General. Provides that a person or entity
 8    that reports suspected fraud or abuse in good faith to
      the agency or a law enforcement entity is immune from
 9    civil liability. Authorizes the sharing of information
      concerning suspected fraud or abuse. Authorizes the
10    agency to adopt rules. Requires that the agency create a
      system to validate information collected by systems for
11    reporting encounter data concerning Medicaid recipients.
      Requires that the agency report to the Governor and the
12    Legislature.

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