Florida Senate - 2011 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1454
Barcode 830024
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: WD .
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 Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 383.50, Florida
6 Statutes, is amended to read:
7 383.50 Treatment of surrendered newborn infant.—
8 (5)(a) Except when there is actual or suspected child abuse
9 or neglect, any parent who leaves a newborn infant with a
10 firefighter, emergency medical technician, or paramedic at a
11 fire station or emergency medical services station, or brings a
12 newborn infant to an emergency room of a hospital and expresses
13 an intent to leave the newborn infant and not return, has the
14 absolute right to remain anonymous and to leave at any time and
15 may not be pursued or followed unless the parent seeks to
16 reclaim the newborn infant.
17 (b) When an infant is born in a hospital and the mother
18 expresses intent to leave the infant and not return:,
19 1. Upon the mother’s request, the hospital or registrar
20 shall complete the infant’s birth certificate without naming the
21 mother thereon.
22 2. If the mother considers applying for eligibility for the
23 Medicaid program through the hospital as a qualified Medicaid
24 provider, the hospital shall notify the mother that the act of
25 applying for Medicaid will cause her personal information
26 included on the Medicaid application to be submitted to the
27 Department of Children and Family Services and that she will be
28 contacted by the department or the Medicaid program, or both,
29 about her Medicaid-eligibility status. The hospital shall
30 confirm that the mother wishes to apply for Medicaid and
31 understands this notification by obtaining her signature on a
32 written acknowledgment.
33 3. If the mother has no creditable coverage as defined in
34 s. 627.6561 and chooses not to apply for Medicaid under
35 subparagraph 2. or is denied Medicaid eligibility, the hospital
36 may seek compensation from Medicaid for care provided to the
37 surrendered newborn infant and to the mother 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 eligible for
40 Medicaid, as applicable. For care that is not reimbursable under
41 Medicaid, the hospital may seek to classify the care as charity
42 care under s. 409.911(1)(c). The hospital may not seek payment
43 for such care from the mother or from any individual who is
44 financially responsible for the mother.
45 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
46 409.911, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
47 409.911 Disproportionate share program.—Subject to specific
48 allocations established within the General Appropriations Act
49 and any limitations established pursuant to chapter 216, the
50 agency shall distribute, pursuant to this section, moneys to
51 hospitals providing a disproportionate share of Medicaid or
52 charity care services by making quarterly Medicaid payments as
53 required. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 409.915, counties
54 are exempt from contributing toward the cost of this special
55 reimbursement for hospitals serving a disproportionate share of
56 low-income patients.
57 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, s. 409.9112, and
58 the Florida Hospital Uniform Reporting System manual:
59 (c) “Charity care” or “uncompensated charity care” means
60 that portion of hospital charges reported to the Agency for
61 Health Care Administration for which there is no compensation,
62 other than restricted or unrestricted revenues provided to a
63 hospital by local governments or tax districts regardless of the
64 method of payment, for:
65 1. Care provided to a patient whose family income for the
66 12 months preceding the determination is less than or equal to
67 200 percent of the federal poverty level, unless the amount of
68 hospital charges due from the patient exceeds 25 percent of the
69 annual family income; or
70 2. Care provided under conditions described in s.
71 383.50(5)(b).
72
73 However, in no case shall the Hospital charges for a patient
74 whose family income exceeds four times the federal poverty level
75 for a family of four may not be considered charity, except for
76 care provided under conditions described in s. 383.50(5)(b).
77 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
78
79 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
80 And the title is amended as follows:
81
82 Delete everything before the enacting clause
83 and insert:
84 A bill to be entitled
85 An act relating to surrendered newborn infants;
86 amending s. 383.50, F.S.; providing for the mother of
87 a newborn infant who surrenders her infant at a
88 hospital to apply for Medicaid through the hospital as
89 a qualified Medicaid provider; authorizing the
90 hospital to seek compensation from Medicaid for care
91 provided to the surrendered newborn infant and the
92 mother if the mother has no creditable coverage;
93 authorizing the hospital to classify the unreimbursed
94 medical care as charity care; prohibiting the hospital
95 from seeking payment for such care from the mother or
96 an individual who is financially responsible for the
97 mother; amending s. 409.911, F.S.; redefining the term
98 “charity care” to include unreimbursed care provided
99 to a surrendered newborn infant and the mother under
100 certain circumstances; providing an effective date.