Florida Senate - 2010 SB 1930
By Senator Wise
5-01542-10 20101930__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to health care transition programs and
3 services for adolescents and young adults who have
4 special health care needs; providing legislative
5 intent; establishing an office within the Division of
6 Children’s Medical Services Network in the Department
7 of Health to implement a health care transition
8 program for adolescents and young adults who have
9 special health care needs; specifying duties of the
10 office with respect to the oversight, implementation,
11 and coordination of the program; requiring that the
12 office provide technical assistance to communities,
13 providers, and organizations; requiring the Department
14 of Health, in partnership with the Agency for Health
15 Care Administration, to identify options for
16 addressing the compensation of health care providers
17 and improving access to adult and specialty health
18 care for adolescents and young adults who have special
19 health care needs; requiring the department to enter
20 into contracts, contingent upon appropriations, with
21 local health and transition services programs;
22 providing requirements for program structure and
23 design; specifying the services that may be offered by
24 local health and transition services programs;
25 requiring that at least one health and transition
26 services program be associated with each of the eight
27 regions of the Children’s Medical Services Network;
28 requiring an evaluation of the program; providing an
29 effective date.
30
31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33 Section 1. Legislative intent; health care transition
34 programs and services for adolescents and young adults who have
35 special health care needs.—
36 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a
37 strategic and comprehensive approach to the development and
38 implementation of effective health care transition programs and
39 services for adolescents and young adults who have special
40 health care needs.
41 (2) An office is established within the Division of
42 Children’s Medical Services Network which shall be responsible
43 for:
44 (a) Overseeing and implementing the national maternal and
45 child health goals, using existing state plans, in order to
46 implement effective transition programs for adolescents and
47 young adults who have special health care needs. As used in this
48 section, the term “adolescents and young adults who have special
49 health care needs” means individuals who are 12 through 26 years
50 of age; who have chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or
51 emotional conditions; and who require health care or related
52 services of a type or amount beyond that which is generally
53 required by adolescents or young adults.
54 (b) Developing a planning and implementation process and
55 the necessary guides for use by community providers and
56 organizations in developing coordinated systems of services for
57 adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs.
58 The coordinated system of services shall include different
59 models that accommodate the geographic and cultural diversity in
60 the state and that are adapted to the local needs of communities
61 and to local health services delivery systems. Furthermore, the
62 models shall promote the integration of health care transition
63 services with transition programs in education, vocational
64 rehabilitation, and independent living, and shall address the
65 varying needs of subpopulations, such as students who are
66 enrolled in postsecondary educational institutions and
67 individuals in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems.
68 (c) Developing and disseminating resource guides that
69 outline the various public and private health care financing
70 options, including commercial insurance, and the respective
71 health care benefits.
72 (d) Coordinating the program with training institutions,
73 including medical centers, to identify and make available for
74 health care providers existing training programs regarding the
75 principles, objectives, and methods of successfully transferring
76 adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs
77 to adult health care providers.
78 (e) Maintaining and updating web-based materials related to
79 health care transition which can be used by adolescents and
80 young adults who have special health care needs and their
81 families, providers, and others involved in health care
82 transition.
83 (f) Collecting and disseminating information in specific
84 clinical areas concerning evidenced-based practices and best
85 practices for providing health care transition services for
86 youth and young adults who have chronic special health care
87 needs or disabilities.
88 (g) Providing technical assistance to communities,
89 providers, and organizations that are involved in the
90 development and implementation of systems of services for
91 adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs.
92 (h) Developing and disseminating quality improvement and
93 evaluation components for health care transition programs. The
94 quality improvement and evaluation components must include a
95 common or comparable set of performance measures for all
96 entities that provide health care transition services for
97 adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs.
98 (3) The Department of Health shall work in partnership with
99 the Agency for Health Care Administration to identify potential
100 waiver or state plan options that address health care provider
101 compensation strategies, including, but not limited to, co
102 management, care plan development and oversight, provision of a
103 medical home, and use of tele-health technology to improve
104 access to adult and specialty health care for adolescents and
105 young adults who have special health care needs.
106 (4) The Department of Health shall work with the Office of
107 Insurance Regulation to explore and recommend effective policies
108 that address medical management and health care transition
109 services for adolescents and young adults who have special
110 health care needs.
111 (5) The Department of Health may enter into contracts,
112 contingent upon a specific appropriation provided in the General
113 Appropriations Act for this purpose, with local health and
114 transition services programs that meet the requirements of this
115 section.
116 (6) The program structure and design must be adapted to the
117 needs of the local community and health services delivery
118 system; however, the following elements shall be in place in
119 order to ensure the success of a local health and transition
120 services program:
121 (a) A consultative partnership between adult and pediatric
122 health care providers in a major medical health care
123 organization or academic medical setting for the purpose of
124 transferring adolescents and young adults to adult health care
125 services.
126 (b) Community-based health care services that are provided
127 under agreements with major health care organizations or
128 academic medical centers for the purpose of providing
129 consultation concerning the management of special health care
130 needs.
131 (c) Community-based support organizations that can provide
132 assistance with services such as supported living and
133 employment, health insurance, and support services to maintain
134 the young adult in the community.
135 (d) A medical home that provides for coordinated and
136 multidisciplinary care and focuses on engaging adult health care
137 providers in the care and treatment of adolescents or young
138 adults.
139 (7) The following services may be offered by the local
140 health and transition services program to individuals who are
141 served in the local health and transition services program:
142 (a) An assessment of health needs, education and vocational
143 status and needs, and health insurance status.
144 (b) In coordination with the educational system, community
145 based organizations, and the vocational system, a plan for
146 transition, which includes adult health care services,
147 education, habilitative services, independent living services,
148 adult employment, and health insurance.
149 (c) Disease self-management programs.
150 (8) There shall be at least one transition program
151 associated with each one of the eight regions of the Children’s
152 Medical Services Network, subject to the availability of funds.
153 (9) The local health and transition services program shall
154 be evaluated by an organization or university that has expertise
155 and experience in evaluating health care programs. The
156 evaluation must be formative and cumulative and must include
157 program process and outcome measures, as well as client
158 outcomes. The results of the evaluation may be used by the
159 department to improve and develop other local health and
160 transition services programs.
161 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.