Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 1012
By the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice;
and Senator Yarborough
604-02835-26 20261012c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to inmate services; amending s.
3 945.215, F.S.; requiring that maintenance and repair
4 deduction fees from contractor-operated correctional
5 facilities be deposited in the Contractor-Operated
6 Institutions Inmate Welfare Trust Fund; requiring that
7 funds from the Contractor-Operated Institutions Inmate
8 Welfare Trust Fund be used for specified purposes;
9 amending s. 945.6041, F.S.; providing legislative
10 findings; providing and revising definitions; revising
11 compensation for the provision of inmate medical
12 services by certain providers; providing an exemption;
13 prohibiting compensation to a hospital for the
14 provision of emergency medical services and care
15 provided to inmates from exceeding a certain
16 percentage of the Medicare allowable rate; revising
17 compensation for the provision of inmate emergency
18 medical transportation services; reenacting s.
19 944.72(1), F.S., relating to the Contractor-Operated
20 Institutions Inmate Welfare Trust Fund, to incorporate
21 the amendment made to s. 945.215, F.S., in a reference
22 thereto; providing effective dates.
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section
27 945.215, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
28 945.215 Inmate welfare and employee benefit trust funds.—
29 (3) CONTRACTOR-OPERATED INSTITUTIONS INMATE WELFARE TRUST
30 FUND; CONTRACTOR-OPERATED CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES.—
31 (b)1. The net proceeds derived from inmate canteens,
32 vending machines used primarily by inmates, telephone
33 commissions, and similar sources at contractor-operated
34 correctional facilities shall be deposited in the Contractor
35 Operated Institutions Inmate Welfare Trust Fund.
36 2. Maintenance and repair deduction fees from contractor
37 operated correctional facilities shall be deposited in the
38 Contractor-Operated Institutions Inmate Welfare Trust Fund.
39 3. Funds in the Contractor-Operated Institutions Inmate
40 Welfare Trust Fund shall be used exclusively to provide for or
41 to operate any of the following at contractor-operated
42 correctional facilities:
43 a. Programs to aid inmates’ reintegration into society.
44 b. Environmental health upgrades to facilities, including
45 fixed capital outlay for repairs and maintenance that would
46 improve environmental conditions of the correctional facilities.
47 4.2. Funds in the Contractor-Operated Institutions Inmate
48 Welfare Trust Fund shall be expended only pursuant to
49 legislative appropriation.
50 Section 2. Effective October 1, 2026, section 945.6041,
51 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
52 945.6041 Compensation for inmate emergency and specialty
53 medical services.—
54 (1) The Legislature finds that the department relies on
55 community health care providers to provide emergency and
56 specialty medical services to incarcerated inmates which cannot
57 be provided by health care staff inside a state correctional
58 institution or facility. The Legislature further finds that the
59 department has experienced a substantial increase in inmate
60 health care costs.
61 (2)(1) As used in this section, the term:
62 (a) “Emergency medical transportation services” includes,
63 but is not limited to, services rendered by ambulances,
64 emergency medical services vehicles, and air ambulances as those
65 terms are defined in s. 401.23.
66 (a)(b) “Community health care provider” means:
67 1. A hospital licensed under chapter 395.
68 2. A physician or physician assistant licensed under
69 chapter 458.
70 3. An osteopathic physician or physician assistant licensed
71 under chapter 459.
72 4. A podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461.
73 5. An autonomous advanced practice registered nurse
74 licensed under chapter 464.
75 6.5. A health maintenance organization certificated under
76 part I of chapter 641.
77 7.6. An ambulatory surgical center licensed under chapter
78 395.
79 8.7. A professional association, partnership, corporation,
80 joint venture, or other association established by the
81 individuals set forth in subparagraphs 2., 3., and 4. for
82 professional activity.
83 9.8. An other medical facility.
84 a. As used in this subparagraph, the term “other medical
85 facility” means:
86 (I) A facility the primary purpose of which is to provide
87 human medical diagnostic services, or a facility providing
88 nonsurgical human medical treatment which discharges patients on
89 the same working day that the patients are admitted; and
90 (II) A facility that is not part of a hospital.
91 b. The term does not include a facility existing for the
92 primary purpose of performing terminations of pregnancy, or an
93 office maintained by a physician or dentist for the practice of
94 medicine.
95 (b) “Emergency medical condition” has the same meaning as
96 in s. 395.002(8).
97 (c) “Emergency medical services and care” means medical
98 screening, examination, and evaluation by a physician, or, to
99 the extent permitted by applicable law, by other appropriate
100 personnel under the supervision of a physician, to determine
101 whether an emergency medical condition exists and, if so, the
102 care, treatment, or surgery by a physician necessary to relieve
103 or eliminate the emergency medical condition, within the service
104 capability of the facility.
105 (d) “Emergency medical transportation services” includes,
106 but is not limited to, services rendered by ambulances,
107 emergency medical services vehicles, and air ambulances as those
108 terms are defined in s. 401.23.
109 (e) “Hospital” means any facility licensed under chapter
110 395.
111 (f) “Inmate medical services” includes, but is not limited
112 to, all services rendered by a community health care provider to
113 an inmate, except emergency medical services and care provided
114 by a hospital.
115 (g) “Medicaid allowable rate” means the amount that the
116 Agency for Health Care Administration would reimburse a Medicaid
117 provider, as defined in s. 409.901, for Medicaid-covered
118 services delivered through the fee-for-service program.
119 (h) “Medicare allowable rate” means the amount set by the
120 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services which Medicare will
121 pay for a specific covered service.
122 (i) “Secure unit” means a designated space, approved by the
123 department, where the department can safely and efficiently
124 manage and secure inmates receiving medical services from a
125 community health care provider.
126 (3)(2) Compensation to a community health care provider for
127 the provision of to provide inmate medical services may not
128 exceed 110 percent of the relevant Medicare allowable rate if
129 the health care provider does not have a contract to provide
130 services with the department or the contractor-operated
131 correctional facility, as defined in s. 944.710, which houses
132 the inmate. However, a community health care provider is exempt
133 from this section and may negotiate compensation above 110
134 percent of the relevant Medicare allowable rate if the community
135 health care provider enters into an agreement with the
136 department, a comprehensive health care services vendor, or a
137 contractor-operated correctional facility, as defined in s.
138 944.710, to provide health care services to inmates in a secure
139 unit within the community health care provider’s medical
140 facility, within a correctional institution or facility, or by
141 telehealth in accordance with s. 456.47 if such inmates are
142 within the correctional institution or facility when they
143 receive medical services compensation to a health care provider
144 may not exceed 125 percent of the Medicare allowable rate if:
145 (a) The health care provider does not have a contract to
146 provide services with the department or the contractor-operated
147 correctional facility, as defined in s. 944.710, which houses
148 the inmate; and
149 (b) The health care provider reported a negative operating
150 margin for the previous year to the Agency for Health Care
151 Administration through hospital-audited financial data.
152 (4) Compensation to a hospital for the provision of
153 emergency medical services and care provided to inmates may not
154 exceed 110 percent of the Medicare allowable rate.
155 (5)(3) Compensation to an entity to provide emergency
156 medical transportation services for inmates may not exceed 110
157 percent of the Medicaid Medicare allowable rate if the entity
158 does not have a contract with the department or a contractor
159 operated correctional facility, as defined in s. 944.710, to
160 provide the services.
161 (6)(4) This section does not apply to charges for medical
162 services provided at a hospital operated by the department.
163 Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
164 made by this act to section 945.215, Florida Statutes, in a
165 reference thereto, subsection (1) of section 944.72, Florida
166 Statutes, is reenacted to read:
167 944.72 Contractor-Operated Institutions Inmate Welfare
168 Trust Fund.—
169 (1) There is hereby created in the Department of
170 Corrections the Contractor-Operated Institutions Inmate Welfare
171 Trust Fund. The purpose of the trust fund shall be the benefit
172 and welfare of inmates incarcerated in contractor-operated
173 correctional facilities under contract with the department
174 pursuant to this chapter or chapter 957. Moneys shall be
175 deposited in the trust fund and expenditures made from the trust
176 fund as provided in s. 945.215.
177 Section 4. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
178 act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2026.