Florida Senate - 2011 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1454
Barcode 174036
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
10/19/2011 .
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The Committee on Health Regulation (Garcia) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5
6 Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 383.50, Florida
7 Statutes, is amended to read:
8 383.50 Treatment of surrendered newborn infant.—
9 (5)(a) Except when there is actual or suspected child abuse
10 or neglect, any parent who leaves a newborn infant with a
11 firefighter, emergency medical technician, or paramedic at a
12 fire station or emergency medical services station, or brings a
13 newborn infant to an emergency room of a hospital and expresses
14 an intent to leave the newborn infant and not return, has the
15 absolute right to remain anonymous and to leave at any time and
16 may not be pursued or followed unless the parent seeks to
17 reclaim the newborn infant.
18 (b) When an infant is born in a hospital and the mother
19 expresses intent to leave the infant and not return:,
20 1. Upon the mother’s request, the hospital or registrar
21 shall complete the infant’s birth certificate without naming the
22 mother thereon.
23 2. If the mother considers applying for eligibility for the
24 Medicaid program through the hospital as a qualified Medicaid
25 provider, the hospital shall notify the mother that the act of
26 applying for Medicaid will cause her personal information
27 included on the Medicaid application to be submitted to the
28 Department of Children and Family Services and that she will be
29 contacted by the department or the Medicaid program, or both,
30 about her Medicaid eligibility status. The hospital shall
31 confirm that the mother wishes to apply for Medicaid and
32 understands the notification by obtaining her signature on a
33 written acknowledgment of having received notice, if she chooses
34 to apply.
35 3. The hospital may seek reimbursement from Medicaid, as
36 applicable, for care provided to a surrendered newborn infant
37 and the mother of a surrendered newborn infant related to labor
38 and delivery of the infant, if the infant is determined by the
39 Department of Children and Family Services to be Medicaid
40 eligible and if the hospital renders care not reimbursable by
41 Medicaid under subparagraph 2. For such care not reimbursable
42 under Medicaid, the hospital may seek to classify the care as
43 charity care under s. 409.911(1)(c). The hospital may not seek
44 payment for such care from the mother of a surrendered newborn
45 infant or from any individual financially responsible for the
46 mother of a surrendered newborn infant.
47 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
48 409.911, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
49 409.911 Disproportionate share program.—Subject to specific
50 allocations established within the General Appropriations Act
51 and any limitations established pursuant to chapter 216, the
52 agency shall distribute, pursuant to this section, moneys to
53 hospitals providing a disproportionate share of Medicaid or
54 charity care services by making quarterly Medicaid payments as
55 required. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 409.915, counties
56 are exempt from contributing toward the cost of this special
57 reimbursement for hospitals serving a disproportionate share of
58 low-income patients.
59 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, s. 409.9112, and
60 the Florida Hospital Uniform Reporting System manual:
61 (c) “Charity care” or “uncompensated charity care” means
62 that portion of hospital charges reported to the Agency for
63 Health Care Administration for which there is no compensation,
64 other than restricted or unrestricted revenues provided to a
65 hospital by local governments or tax districts regardless of the
66 method of payment, for:
67 1. Care provided to a patient whose family income for the
68 12 months preceding the determination is less than or equal to
69 200 percent of the federal poverty level, unless the amount of
70 hospital charges due from the patient exceeds 25 percent of the
71 annual family income; or
72 2. Care provided under conditions described in s.
73 383.50(5)(b).
74
75 However, in no case shall the Hospital charges for a patient
76 whose family income exceeds four times the federal poverty level
77 for a family of four may not be considered charity, except for
78 care provided without compensation under conditions described in
79 s. 383.50(5)(b).
80 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
81
82 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
83 And the title is amended as follows:
84
85 Delete everything before the enacting clause
86 and insert:
87 A bill to be entitled
88 An act relating to surrendered newborn infants;
89 amending s. 383.50, F.S.; providing that if the mother
90 of a newborn infant considers applying for eligibility
91 for the Medicaid program through the hospital as a
92 qualified Medicaid provider, the hospital must notify
93 the mother that the act of applying for Medicaid will
94 cause her personal information included on the
95 Medicaid application to be submitted to the Department
96 of Children and Family Services; authorizing a
97 hospital to seek reimbursement from Medicaid for care
98 provided to a surrendered newborn infant and the
99 mother of a surrendered newborn infant related to
100 labor and delivery of the infant, if the infant is
101 determined by the Department of Children and Family
102 Services to be Medicaid eligible; prohibiting the
103 hospital from seeking payment for such care from the
104 mother of a surrendered newborn infant or from any
105 individual financially responsible for the mother of a
106 surrendered newborn infant; amending s. 409.911, F.S.;
107 redefining the definition of “charity care” for the
108 disproportionate share program; providing that if a
109 patient has income that exceeds a specified multiple
110 of the federal poverty level, the care provided to the
111 patient does not qualify as charity care unless the
112 care is provided without compensation to a surrendered
113 newborn infant or the person financially responsible
114 for the mother of the surrendered newborn infant;
115 providing an effective date.