Senate Bill sb2428

    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2428

    By Senator Fasano





    11-1324A-06                                        See HB 1265

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to small business health care

  3         insurance assistance; providing legislative

  4         intent; establishing a pilot program to provide

  5         rebates to small businesses providing

  6         comprehensive major medical health insurance

  7         coverage for employees; requiring employer and

  8         employee participation in certain costs;

  9         specifying the amount of the rebate; providing

10         for additional eligibility for certain

11         businesses; providing for payment of the

12         rebates from general revenue; providing for

13         administration of the program by the Agency for

14         Health Care Administration; requiring the

15         agency to adopt rules; providing enforcement

16         and audit authority for the agency; providing

17         an effective date.

18  

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

20  

21         Section 1.  (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature to

22  encourage small businesses to provide comprehensive major

23  medical health insurance coverage to employees of the

24  businesses. It is the intent of this act to establish a

25  statewide pilot program that will allocate $15 million from

26  general revenue for such purposes.

27         (2)  The Small Business Health Care Insurance

28  Assistance Pilot Program is created as a statewide pilot

29  program for a period of 2 years to provide a one-time rebate

30  for small businesses that employ more than one but fewer than

31  six employees and that provide full coverage of comprehensive

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






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2428
    11-1324A-06                                        See HB 1265




 1  major medical health insurance for such employees pursuant to

 2  s. 627.6699, Florida Statutes. The employer shall pay at least

 3  50 percent but less than 100 percent of the cost of the

 4  coverage, and the employees must share in the remainder of the

 5  cost of the coverage.

 6         (3)(a)  The amount of the rebate shall be $1,000 per

 7  each employee as reported on the business's Florida

 8  unemployment compensation tax form 6.

 9         (b)  A small business must apply through the Agency for

10  Health Care Administration.

11         (c)  A business is eligible for the rebate under this

12  section if, at the time of applying for a rebate under the

13  pilot program, the business had provided and paid for such

14  coverage for 12 consecutive months but had not provided and

15  paid for such coverage for at least 6 months prior to such

16  12-month period. The business may apply only once for the

17  rebate.

18         (4)  The pilot program shall be funded by general

19  revenue and shall be administered by the Agency for Health

20  Care Administration. The agency shall adopt any rules pursuant

21  to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, Florida Statutes, necessary to

22  administer and ensure accountability of the pilot program and

23  enforce compliance with the requirements of the program. The

24  agency may conduct audits of any business applying for rebates

25  under the program to ensure compliance with program

26  requirements.

27         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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