Senate Bill sb2428c1

    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 2428

    By the Committee on Health Care; and Senator Fasano





    587-2452-06

  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; limiting authorization to provide

12         rebates under the program only pursuant to

13         specific appropriation; providing for

14         administration of the program by the Agency for

15         Health Care Administration; requiring the

16         agency to adopt rules; providing enforcement

17         and audit authority for the agency; providing

18         an effective date.

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

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

23  encourage small businesses to provide comprehensive major

24  medical health insurance coverage to employees of the

25  businesses.

26         (2)  The Small Business Health Care Insurance

27  Assistance Pilot Program is created as a statewide pilot

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

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

30  six employees and that provide full coverage of comprehensive

31  major medical health insurance for such employees pursuant to

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






    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 2428
    587-2452-06




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

 2  50 percent but less than 100 percent of the cost of the

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

 4  cost of the coverage.

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

 6  each employee as reported on the business' Florida

 7  unemployment compensation tax form 6.

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

 9  Health Care Administration.

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

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

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

13  coverage for 12 consecutive months but had not provided and

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

15  12-month period. The business may receive the rebate only one

16  time.

17         (d)  The agency shall only provide rebates to eligible

18  businesses if a specific appropriation is made in the General

19  Appropriations Act for the purpose of providing rebates under

20  the pilot program.

21         (4)  The pilot program shall be administered by the

22  Agency for Health Care Administration. The agency shall adopt

23  any rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, Florida

24  Statutes, necessary to administer and ensure accountability of

25  the pilot program and enforce compliance with the requirements

26  of the program. The agency may conduct audits of any business

27  applying for rebates under the program to ensure compliance

28  with program requirements.

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

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






    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 2428
    587-2452-06




 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                         Senate Bill 2428

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 4  The Committee Substitute deletes the intent that this act
    establish a statewide pilot program that will allocate $15
 5  million from general revenue for the purpose of providing a
    one-time rebate to small businesses that provide health care
 6  coverage; clarifies that a business may receive the rebate
    only one time; and specifies that the Agency for Health Care
 7  Administration can only provide rebates to eligible businesses
    if a specific appropriation is made in the General
 8  Appropriations Act for the purpose of providing rebates under
    the pilot program.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.