The Florida Senate

651.105  Examination and inspections.--

(1)  The office may at any time, and shall at least once every 3 years, examine the business of any applicant for a certificate of authority and any provider engaged in the execution of care contracts or engaged in the performance of obligations under such contracts, in the same manner as is provided for examination of insurance companies pursuant to s. 624.316 Such examinations shall be made by a representative or examiner designated by the office, whose compensation will be fixed by the office pursuant to s. 624.320 Routine examinations may be made by having the necessary documents submitted to the office; and, for this purpose, financial documents and records conforming to commonly accepted accounting principles and practices, as required under s. 651.026, will be deemed adequate. The final written report of each such examination shall be filed with the office and, when so filed, will constitute a public record. Any provider being examined shall, upon request, give reasonable and timely access to all of its records. The representative or examiner designated by the office may at any time examine the records and affairs and inspect the physical property of any provider, whether in connection with a formal examination or not.

(2)  Any duly authorized officer, employee, or agent of the office may, upon presentation of proper identification, have access to, and inspect, any records, with or without advance notice, to secure compliance with, or to prevent a violation of, any provision of this chapter.

(3)  Reports of the results of such financial examinations must be kept on file by the office. Any investigatory records, reports, or documents held by the office are confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1), until the investigation is completed or ceases to be active. For the purpose of this section, an investigation is active while it is being conducted by the office with a reasonable, good faith belief that it could lead to the filing of administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings. An investigation does not cease to be active if the office is proceeding with reasonable dispatch and has a good faith belief that action could be initiated by the office or other administrative or law enforcement agency.

(4)  The office shall notify the provider in writing of all deficiencies in its compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter and shall set a reasonable length of time for compliance by the provider. In addition, the office shall require corrective action or request a corrective action plan from the provider which plan demonstrates a good faith attempt to remedy the deficiencies by a specified date. If the provider fails to comply within the established length of time, the office may initiate action against the provider in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

History.--s. 1, ch. 77-323; ss. 14, 25, ch. 81-292; s. 2, ch. 81-318; s. 3, ch. 83-265; ss. 17, 31, 33, 35, ch. 83-328; s. 10, ch. 90-248; s. 184, ch. 91-108; ss. 9, 12, ch. 93-22; s. 3, ch. 93-79; s. 408, ch. 96-406; s. 17, ch. 97-229; s. 1684, ch. 2003-261.