| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to small business health care insurance |
| 3 | assistance; providing legislative intent; establishing a |
| 4 | pilot program in certain counties to provide rebates to |
| 5 | small businesses providing comprehensive major medical |
| 6 | health insurance coverage for employees; requiring |
| 7 | employer and employee participation in certain costs; |
| 8 | specifying the amount of the rebate; providing for |
| 9 | additional eligibility for certain businesses; limiting |
| 10 | authorization to provide rebates under the program |
| 11 | pursuant to voluntary provision of funds by local |
| 12 | governmental entities and matching state funds; providing |
| 13 | for administration of the program by the Agency for Health |
| 14 | Care Administration; requiring the agency to adopt rules; |
| 15 | providing enforcement and audit authority for the agency; |
| 16 | providing for funding of the program from local |
| 17 | governmental agencies within the counties and matching |
| 18 | funds from the state; providing an effective date. |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 21 |
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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 Assistance |
| 27 | Pilot Program is created in Pasco County and Volusia County as a |
| 28 | pilot program for a period of 2 years to provide a one-time |
| 29 | rebate for small businesses that employ more than one but fewer |
| 30 | than six employees and that provide full coverage of |
| 31 | comprehensive major medical health insurance for such employees |
| 32 | pursuant to s. 627.6699, Florida Statutes. The employer shall |
| 33 | pay at least 50 percent but less than 100 percent of the cost of |
| 34 | the coverage, and the employees must share in the remainder of |
| 35 | the cost of the coverage. |
| 36 | (3)(a) The amount of the rebate shall be $1,000 per each |
| 37 | employee as reported on the business's Florida unemployment |
| 38 | compensation tax form 6. |
| 39 | (b) A small business must apply through the Agency for |
| 40 | Health Care Administration. |
| 41 | (c) A business is eligible for the rebate under this |
| 42 | section if, at the time of applying for a rebate under the pilot |
| 43 | program, the business had provided and paid for such coverage |
| 44 | for 12 consecutive months but had not provided and paid for such |
| 45 | coverage for at least 6 months prior to the 12-month period. The |
| 46 | business may receive the rebate only one time. |
| 47 | (d) Pursuant to subsection (5), the agency shall only |
| 48 | provide rebates to eligible businesses if funding is voluntarily |
| 49 | provided by local governmental entities and matching funds are |
| 50 | provided by the state. |
| 51 | (4) The pilot program shall be administered by the Agency |
| 52 | for Health Care Administration. The agency shall adopt any rules |
| 53 | pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, Florida Statutes, |
| 54 | necessary to administer and ensure accountability of the pilot |
| 55 | program and enforce compliance with the requirements of the |
| 56 | program. The agency may conduct audits of any business applying |
| 57 | for rebates under the program to ensure compliance with program |
| 58 | requirements. |
| 59 | (5) Any funding for the pilot program shall be voluntarily |
| 60 | provided by local governmental entities within Pasco County and |
| 61 | Volusia County. The state shall provide matching funds for the |
| 62 | program equal to the aggregate amounts provided by local |
| 63 | governmental entities within each county. |
| 64 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |