HB 0947

CS

CHAMBER ACTION

1	The Health Care Appropriations Committee recommends the
2	following:
3
4	Council/Committee Substitute
5	Remove the entire bill and insert:
6	A bill to be entitled
7	An act relating to long-term care coverage; reenacting and
8	amending s. 409.9102, F.S.; directing the Agency for
9	Health Care Administration, in consultation with the
10	Office of Insurance Regulation and the Department of
11	Children and Family Services, to amend the Medicaid state
12	plan that established the Florida Long-Term Care
13	Partnership Program for purposes of compliance with
14	provisions of the Social Security Act; providing duties of
15	the program; requiring consultation with the Office of
16	Insurance Regulation and the Department of Children and
17	Family Services for the creation of standards for certain
18	information; providing rulemaking authority to the agency
19	for implementation of s. 409.9102, F.S.; providing
20	rulemaking authority to the department regarding
21	determination of eligibility for certain services;
22	creating s. 627.94075, F.S.; requiring the office, in
23	consultation with the agency and the department, to
24	develop standards for designation of eligible long-term
25	care policies and related forms; providing rulemaking
26	authority to the Financial Services Commission for the
27	implementation of the Long-Term Care Partnership Program;
28	repealing ss. 1 and 2 of ch. 2005-252, Laws of Florida, to
29	delete conflicting provisions relating to determining
30	eligibility for nursing and rehabilitative services and
31	establishing a Long-Term Care Partnership Program that
32	were contingent upon amendment to the Social Security Act;
33	amending s. 4 of ch. 2005-252, Laws of Florida, to delete
34	a contingency in an effective date; requiring the Office
35	of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
36	to submit a report on the implementation of the Florida
37	Long-Term Care Partnership Program to the Governor and
38	Legislature; providing an effective date.
39
40	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
41
42	Section 1.  Section 409.9102, Florida Statutes, as created
43	by section 2 of chapter 2005-252, Laws of Florida, is reenacted
44	and amended to read:
45	(Substantial rewording of section. See
46	s. 409.9102, F.S., for present text.)
47	409.9102  Florida Long-Term Care Partnership Program.--The
48	Agency for Health Care Administration, in consultation with the
49	Office of Insurance Regulation and the Department of Children
50	and Family Services, is directed to establish the Florida Long-
51	Term Care Partnership Program, in compliance with the
52	requirements of s. 1917(b) of the Social Security Act, as
53	amended.
54	(1)  The program shall:
55	(a)  Provide incentives for an individual to obtain or
56	maintain insurance to cover the cost of long-term care.
57	(b)  Provide a mechanism to qualify for coverage of the
58	costs of long-term care needs under Medicaid without first being
59	required to substantially exhaust his or her assets, including a
60	provision for the disregard of any assets in an amount equal to
61	the insurance benefit payments that are made to or on behalf of
62	an individual who is a beneficiary under the Florida Long-Term
63	Care Partnership Program.
64	(c)  Alleviate the financial burden on the state's medical
65	assistance program by encouraging the pursuit of private
66	initiatives.
67	(2)  The Agency for Health Care Administration, in
68	consultation with the Office of Insurance Regulation and the
69	Department of Children and Family Services, shall create
70	standards for long-term care partnership plan information
71	distributed to individuals through insurance companies offering
72	approved partnership policies.
73	(3)  The Agency for Health Care Administration is
74	authorized to amend the Medicaid state plan and adopt rules
75	pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section.
76	(4)  The Department of Children and Family Services, when
77	determining eligibility for Medicaid long-term care services for
78	an individual who is the beneficiary of an approved long-term
79	care partnership policy, shall reduce the total countable assets
80	of the individual by an amount equal to the insurance benefit
81	payments that are made to or on behalf of the individual. The
82	department is authorized to adopt rules pursuant to ss.
83	120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this subsection.
84	Section 2.  Section 627.94075, Florida Statutes, is created
85	to read:
86	627.94075  Florida Long-Term Care Partnership Program.--
87	(1)  The office, in consultation with the Agency for Health
88	Care Administration and the Department of Children and Family
89	Services, is directed to develop standards for the designation
90	of eligible long-term care policies to be issued in accordance
91	with the Florida Long-Term Care Partnership Program as described
92	in s. 409.9102 and a form or forms that shall be used by
93	insurers to assist insureds and the program in making a
94	determination of eligible policies. Insurers, upon request of
95	the office, shall provide information necessary to determine the
96	number of eligible policies, the amount of benefits paid, and
97	the types and kinds of products offered in order to monitor the
98	implementation of the program.
99	(2)  The commission may adopt rules pursuant to ss.
100	120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement applicable provisions of the
101	Long-Term Care Partnership Program, establish standards for the
102	determination of whether a policy is eligible for the program,
103	establish the proper reporting of benefits paid under
104	partnership-eligible insurance policies, adopt standardized
105	forms to be used by insurers to provide information to insureds
106	and the program regarding the eligibility of the insurer's long-
107	term care policy as a qualifying or nonqualifying policy with
108	the program, and adopt forms to be filed by insurers to report
109	information requested by the office in connection with the
110	program.
111	Section 3.  Sections 1 and 2 of chapter 2005-252, Laws of
112	Florida, are repealed.
113	Section 4.  Section 4 of chapter 2005-252, Laws of Florida,
114	is amended to read:
115	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law,
116	except that the amendments to section 409.905, Florida Statutes,
117	and the newly created section 409.9102, Florida Statutes,
118	provided in this act shall take effect contingent upon amendment
119	to section 1917(b)(1)(c) of the Social Security Act by the
120	United States Congress to delete the "May 14, 1993," deadline
121	for approval by states of long-term care partnership plans.
122	Section 5.  The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
123	Government Accountability is directed to prepare a report on the
124	implementation of the Florida Long-Term Care Partnership
125	Program. The report shall include data on the number and value
126	of policies sold and the geographic areas in which the policies
127	were purchased, a demographic description of the policyholders,
128	and other information necessary to evaluate the program. The
129	report shall be provided to the Governor, the President of the
130	Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by
131	January 31, 2009.
132	Section 6.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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