Senate Bill 1230e1

    CS for SB 1230                           First Engrossed (ntc)



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; providing an

  3         exemption from public records requirements for

  4         information provided by applicants to the

  5         Florida Kids Health program; providing an

  6         exemption for certain information obtained

  7         through quality assurance activities and

  8         patient satisfaction surveys; providing for

  9         future review and repeal; providing findings of

10         public necessity; providing a contingent

11         effective date.

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13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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15         Section 1.  Notwithstanding any other law to the

16  contrary, any information contained in an application for

17  determination of eligibility for the Florida Kids Health

18  program which identifies applicants, including medical

19  information and family financial information, and any

20  information obtained through quality assurance activities and

21  patient satisfaction surveys which identifies program

22  participants, obtained by the Florida Kids Health program

23  under sections 409.810-409.820, Florida Statutes, is

24  confidential and is exempt from section 119.07(1), Florida

25  Statutes, and section 24(a), Article I of the State

26  Constitution. Except as otherwise provided by law, program

27  staff or staff or agents affiliated with the program may not

28  release, without the written consent of the applicant or the

29  parent or guardian of the applicant, to any state or federal

30  agency, to any private business or person, or to any other

31  entity, any confidential information received under sections


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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    CS for SB 1230                           First Engrossed (ntc)



  1  409.810-409.820, Florida Statutes. This section is subject to

  2  the Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance

  3  with section 119.15, Florida Statutes, and shall stand

  4  repealed on October 2, 2003, unless reviewed and saved from

  5  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

  6         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that exempting

  7  identifying information contained in applications for

  8  eligibility determination under the Florida Kids Health

  9  program, including medical information and family financial

10  information, and any information obtained through quality

11  assurance activities and patient satisfaction surveys which

12  identifies program participants, is a public necessity. The

13  harm caused to program applicants by release of such personal

14  and sensitive information outweighs any public benefit derived

15  from releasing such information. Further, maintaining the

16  confidentiality of such information is necessary to enable the

17  Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of

18  Health, and the Agency for Health Care Administration to

19  effectively and efficiently administer the Florida Kids Health

20  program. If such information is not kept confidential, the

21  administration of the program could be significantly impaired

22  because the applicants would be less inclined to apply to the

23  program if personal medical and financial information were

24  made available to the public.

25         Section 3.  This act shall take effect on the date

26  Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1228, relating to the

27  Florida Kids Health program, or similar legislation becomes a

28  law, and shall not take effect if such legislation does not

29  become a law.

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