Florida Senate - 2024                                    SB 1550
       
       
        
       By Senator Powell
       
       
       
       
       
       24-01689-24                                           20241550__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the home and community-based
    3         services Medicaid waiver program; amending s. 393.065,
    4         F.S.; requiring the Agency for Persons with
    5         Disabilities to include a specific request in its
    6         annual legislative budget request; requiring that the
    7         agency prioritize certain clients in its request and
    8         allocate any such funds appropriated by the
    9         Legislature to prioritize such clients; amending s.
   10         216.136, F.S.; requiring the Social Services
   11         Estimating Conference to develop specified information
   12         relating to the iBudget system for the home and
   13         community-based services Medicaid waiver program;
   14         providing an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Present subsection (12) of section 393.065,
   19  Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (13), and a new
   20  subsection (12) is added to that section, to read:
   21         393.065 Application and eligibility determination.—
   22         (12) Beginning with the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the agency
   23  shall include in its annual legislative budget request a
   24  specific request for sufficient funding to remove at least 25
   25  percent of the total number of clients from the agency’s waiting
   26  list for waiver services. The request must prioritize clients
   27  most in need of services based on their preenrollment categories
   28  as specified in subsection (5), and any specific appropriations
   29  granted by the Legislature for such purpose must be allocated to
   30  prioritize such clients.
   31         Section 2. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (6) of
   32  section 216.136, Florida Statutes, to read:
   33         216.136 Consensus estimating conferences; duties and
   34  principals.—
   35         (6) SOCIAL SERVICES ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.—
   36         (c) The Social Services Estimating Conference shall develop
   37  information relating to the iBudget system for the home and
   38  community-based services Medicaid waiver program, including, but
   39  not limited to, iBudget enrollment, the number of current waiver
   40  recipients, the size of the waiting list, the utilization rate
   41  of program services, and expenditure information that the
   42  conference determines is needed to plan for and project future
   43  budgets and the drawdown of federal matching funds.
   44         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.