Florida Senate - 2008 CS for SB 846

By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and Senators Rich, Dean, Dawson, Dockery and Lynn

586-06456-08 2008846c1

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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to Medicaid provider service networks;

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amending s. 409.912, F.S.; authorizing the Agency for

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Health Care Administration to contract with a specialty

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provider service network that exclusively enrolls Medicaid

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beneficiaries who have psychiatric disabilities; defining

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"psychiatric disabilities"; requiring the specialty

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provider to offer the same physical and behavioral health

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services that are required from other Medicaid health

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maintenance organizations and provider service networks;

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requiring that beneficiaries be assigned to a specialty

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provider service network under certain circumstances;

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amending s. 409.91211, F.S.; requiring that the agency

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modify eligibility assignment processes for managed care

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pilot programs to include specialty plans that specialize

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in care for beneficiaries who have psychiatric

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disabilities; requiring the agency to provide a service

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delivery alternative to provide Medicaid services to

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persons having psychiatric disabilities; providing an

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additional criterion for the agency in making assignments;

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requiring that enrollment and choice counseling materials

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contain an explanation concerning the choice of a network

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or plan; providing for an additional open enrollment

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period following the availability of specialty services;

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providing an effective date.

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

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     Section 1.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section

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409.912, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

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     409.912  Cost-effective purchasing of health care.--The

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agency shall purchase goods and services for Medicaid recipients

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in the most cost-effective manner consistent with the delivery of

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quality medical care. To ensure that medical services are

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effectively utilized, the agency may, in any case, require a

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confirmation or second physician's opinion of the correct

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diagnosis for purposes of authorizing future services under the

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Medicaid program. This section does not restrict access to

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emergency services or poststabilization care services as defined

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in 42 C.F.R. part 438.114. Such confirmation or second opinion

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shall be rendered in a manner approved by the agency. The agency

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shall maximize the use of prepaid per capita and prepaid

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aggregate fixed-sum basis services when appropriate and other

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alternative service delivery and reimbursement methodologies,

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including competitive bidding pursuant to s. 287.057, designed to

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facilitate the cost-effective purchase of a case-managed

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continuum of care. The agency shall also require providers to

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minimize the exposure of recipients to the need for acute

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inpatient, custodial, and other institutional care and the

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inappropriate or unnecessary use of high-cost services. The

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agency shall contract with a vendor to monitor and evaluate the

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clinical practice patterns of providers in order to identify

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trends that are outside the normal practice patterns of a

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provider's professional peers or the national guidelines of a

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provider's professional association. The vendor must be able to

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provide information and counseling to a provider whose practice

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patterns are outside the norms, in consultation with the agency,

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to improve patient care and reduce inappropriate utilization. The

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agency may mandate prior authorization, drug therapy management,

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or disease management participation for certain populations of

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Medicaid beneficiaries, certain drug classes, or particular drugs

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to prevent fraud, abuse, overuse, and possible dangerous drug

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interactions. The Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee shall

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make recommendations to the agency on drugs for which prior

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authorization is required. The agency shall inform the

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Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee of its decisions

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regarding drugs subject to prior authorization. The agency is

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authorized to limit the entities it contracts with or enrolls as

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Medicaid providers by developing a provider network through

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provider credentialing. The agency may competitively bid single-

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source-provider contracts if procurement of goods or services

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results in demonstrated cost savings to the state without

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limiting access to care. The agency may limit its network based

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on the assessment of beneficiary access to care, provider

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availability, provider quality standards, time and distance

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standards for access to care, the cultural competence of the

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provider network, demographic characteristics of Medicaid

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beneficiaries, practice and provider-to-beneficiary standards,

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appointment wait times, beneficiary use of services, provider

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turnover, provider profiling, provider licensure history,

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previous program integrity investigations and findings, peer

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review, provider Medicaid policy and billing compliance records,

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clinical and medical record audits, and other factors. Providers

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shall not be entitled to enrollment in the Medicaid provider

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network. The agency shall determine instances in which allowing

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Medicaid beneficiaries to purchase durable medical equipment and

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other goods is less expensive to the Medicaid program than long-

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term rental of the equipment or goods. The agency may establish

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rules to facilitate purchases in lieu of long-term rentals in

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order to protect against fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program

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as defined in s. 409.913. The agency may seek federal waivers

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necessary to administer these policies.

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     (4)  The agency may contract with:

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     (d) A provider service network, which may be reimbursed on

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a fee-for-service or prepaid basis. A provider service network

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that which is reimbursed by the agency on a prepaid basis is

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shall be exempt from parts I and III of chapter 641, but must

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comply with the solvency requirements in s. 641.2261(2) and meet

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appropriate financial reserve, quality assurance, and patient

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rights requirements as established by the agency.

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     1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., Medicaid

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recipients assigned to a provider service network shall be chosen

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equally from those who would otherwise have been assigned to

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prepaid plans and MediPass. The agency is authorized to seek

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federal Medicaid waivers as necessary to implement the provisions

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of this section. Any contract previously awarded to a provider

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service network operated by a hospital pursuant to this

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subsection shall remain in effect for a period of 3 years

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following the current contract expiration date, regardless of any

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contractual provisions to the contrary. A provider service

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network is a network established or organized and operated by a

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health care provider, or group of affiliated health care

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providers, including minority physician networks and emergency

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room diversion programs that meet the requirements of s.

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409.91211, which provides a substantial proportion of the health

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care items and services under a contract directly through the

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provider or affiliated group of providers and may make

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arrangements with physicians or other health care professionals,

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health care institutions, or any combination of such individuals

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or institutions to assume all or part of the financial risk on a

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prospective basis for the provision of basic health services by

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the physicians, by other health professionals, or through the

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institutions. The health care providers must have a controlling

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interest in the governing body of the provider service network

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organization.

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     2. The agency shall seek applications for and is authorized

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to contract with a specialty provider service network that

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exclusively enrolls Medicaid beneficiaries who have psychiatric

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disabilities. For purposes of this section, "psychiatric

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disability" includes schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder,

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major depression, bipolar, manic and depressive disorders,

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delusional disorders, psychosis, conduct disorders and other

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emotional disturbances, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,

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panic disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders or any person

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who, during the past year, has met at least one of the following

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severity criteria: inpatient psychiatric hospitalization or use

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of antipsychotic medications. The Medicaid specialty provider

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service network shall provide the full range of physical and

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behavioral health services that other Medicaid health maintenance

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organizations and provider service networks are required to

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provide. Medicaid beneficiaries having psychiatric disabilities

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who are required but fail to select a managed care plan shall be

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assigned to the specialty provider service network in those

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geographic areas where a specialty provider service network is

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available. For purposes of enrollment, in addition to those who

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meet the diagnostic criteria indicating a mental illness or

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emotional disturbance, beneficiaries served by Medicaid-enrolled

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community mental health agencies or who voluntarily choose the

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specialty provider service network shall be presumed to meet the

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plan enrollment criteria. The agency is not required to complete

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an assessment to determine the eligibility of beneficiaries for

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enrollment in a specialty provider service network. For current

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beneficiaries with a claims history, a determination shall be

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based on current Medicaid data. New beneficiaries without a

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claims history who have not made a choice are not eligible for

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assignment to a specialty provider service network. However,

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during the open enrollment period when beneficiaries can change

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their plan, a beneficiary's request to be assigned to a specialty

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provider service network is sufficient for the agency to

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determine that the beneficiary qualifies for the specialty

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provider service network.

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     Section 2.  Paragraphs (o) and (aa) of subsection (3) and

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paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) of subsection (4) of

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section 409.91211, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph

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(ee) is added to subsection (3) of that section, to read:

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     409.91211  Medicaid managed care pilot program.--

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     (3)  The agency shall have the following powers, duties, and

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responsibilities with respect to the pilot program:

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     (o)  To implement eligibility assignment processes to

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facilitate client choice while ensuring pilot programs of

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adequate enrollment levels. These processes shall ensure that

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pilot sites have sufficient levels of enrollment to conduct a

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valid test of the managed care pilot program within a 2-year

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timeframe. The eligibility assignment process shall be modified

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as specified in paragraph (aa).

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     (aa)  To implement a mechanism whereby Medicaid recipients

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who are already enrolled in a managed care plan or the MediPass

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program in the pilot areas shall be offered the opportunity to

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change to capitated managed care plans on a staggered basis, as

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defined by the agency. All Medicaid recipients shall have 30 days

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in which to make a choice of capitated managed care plans. Those

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Medicaid recipients who do not make a choice shall be assigned to

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a capitated managed care plan in accordance with paragraph (4)(a)

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and shall be exempt from s. 409.9122. To facilitate continuity of

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care for a Medicaid recipient who is also a recipient of

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Supplemental Security Income (SSI), prior to assigning the SSI

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recipient to a capitated managed care plan, the agency shall

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determine whether the SSI recipient has an ongoing relationship

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with a provider, including a community mental health provider or

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capitated managed care plan, and, if so, the agency shall assign

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the SSI recipient to that provider or capitated managed care plan

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where feasible. Those SSI recipients who do not have such a

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provider relationship shall be assigned to a capitated managed

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care plan provider in accordance with this paragraph and

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paragraphs (4)(a) through (d) and shall be exempt from s.

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409.9122.

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     (ee) To develop and implement a service delivery

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alternative within capitated managed care plans to provide

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Medicaid services as specified in ss. 409.905 and 409.906 for

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persons who have psychiatric disabilities, which are sufficient

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to meet the medical, developmental, and emotional needs of those

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persons.

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     (4)(a)  A Medicaid recipient in the pilot area who is not

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currently enrolled in a capitated managed care plan upon

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implementation is not eligible for services as specified in ss.

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409.905 and 409.906, for the amount of time that the recipient

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does not enroll in a capitated managed care network. If a

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Medicaid recipient has not enrolled in a capitated managed care

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plan within 30 days after eligibility, the agency shall assign

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the Medicaid recipient to a capitated managed care plan based on

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the assessed needs of the recipient as determined by the agency

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and the recipient shall be exempt from s. 409.9122. When making

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assignments, the agency shall take into account the following

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criteria:

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     1.  A capitated managed care network has sufficient network

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capacity to meet the needs of members.

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     2.  The capitated managed care network has previously

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enrolled the recipient as a member, or one of the capitated

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managed care network's primary care providers has previously

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provided health care to the recipient.

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     3.  The agency has knowledge that the member has previously

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expressed a preference for a particular capitated managed care

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network as indicated by Medicaid fee-for-service claims data, but

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has failed to make a choice.

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     4.  The capitated managed care network's primary care

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providers are geographically accessible to the recipient's

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residence.

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     5. The extent of the psychiatric disability of the Medicaid

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beneficiary.

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     (b)  When more than one capitated managed care network

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provider meets the criteria specified in paragraph (3)(h), the

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agency shall assess a beneficiary's psychiatric disability before

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making an assignment and make recipient assignments consecutively

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by family unit.

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     (c)  If a recipient is currently enrolled with a Medicaid

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managed care organization that also operates an approved reform

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plan within a demonstration area and the recipient fails to

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choose a plan during the reform enrollment process or during

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redetermination of eligibility, the recipient shall be

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automatically assigned by the agency into the most appropriate

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reform plan operated by the recipient's current Medicaid managed

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care plan. If the recipient's current managed care plan does not

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operate a reform plan in the demonstration area which adequately

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meets the needs of the Medicaid recipient, the agency shall use

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the automatic assignment process as prescribed in the special

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terms and conditions numbered 11-W-00206/4. All enrollment and

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choice counseling materials provided by the agency must contain

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an explanation of the provisions of this paragraph for current

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managed care recipients and an explanation of the choice of any

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specialty provider service network or specialty managed care

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plan.

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     (d) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the agency may not

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engage in practices that are designed to favor one capitated

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managed care plan over another or that are designed to influence

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Medicaid recipients to enroll in a particular capitated managed

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care network in order to strengthen its particular fiscal

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viability.

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     (e)  After a recipient has made a selection or has been

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enrolled in a capitated managed care network, the recipient shall

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have 90 days in which to voluntarily disenroll and select another

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capitated managed care network. After 90 days, no further changes

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may be made except for cause. Cause shall include, but not be

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limited to, poor quality of care, lack of access to necessary

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specialty services, an unreasonable delay or denial of service,

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inordinate or inappropriate changes of primary care providers,

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service access impairments due to significant changes in the

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geographic location of services, or fraudulent enrollment. The

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agency may require a recipient to use the capitated managed care

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network's grievance process as specified in paragraph (3)(q)

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prior to the agency's determination of cause, except in cases in

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which immediate risk of permanent damage to the recipient's

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health is alleged. The grievance process, when used, must be

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completed in time to permit the recipient to disenroll no later

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than the first day of the second month after the month the

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disenrollment request was made. If the capitated managed care

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network, as a result of the grievance process, approves an

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enrollee's request to disenroll, the agency is not required to

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make a determination in the case. The agency must make a

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determination and take final action on a recipient's request so

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that disenrollment occurs no later than the first day of the

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second month after the month the request was made. If the agency

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fails to act within the specified timeframe, the recipient's

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request to disenroll is deemed to be approved as of the date

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agency action was required. Recipients who disagree with the

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agency's finding that cause does not exist for disenrollment

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shall be advised of their right to pursue a Medicaid fair hearing

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to dispute the agency's finding. When a specialty provider

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service network or specialty managed care plan first becomes

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available in a geographic area, beneficiaries meeting diagnostic

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criteria shall be offered an open enrollment period during which

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they may choose to reenroll in a specialty provider service

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network or specialty managed care plan.

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     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

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