HB 279

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 the Florida Health And Transition
6	Services (FloridaHATS) program within the Division of
7	Children's Medical Services Network in the Department
8	of Health to implement health care transition programs
9	for adolescents and young adults who have special
10	health care needs; specifying duties of the division
11	with respect to the oversight, implementation, and
12	coordination of the program; requiring that the
13	program provide technical assistance to communities,
14	providers, and organizations; requiring the Department
15	of Health, in partnership with the Agency for Health
16	Care Administration, to identify options for
17	addressing the compensation of health care providers
18	and improving access to adult and specialty health
19	care for adolescents and young adults who have special
20	health care needs; requiring the Department of Health
21	to work with the Office of Insurance Regulation to
22	explore and recommend effective policies that address
23	medical management and health care transition services
24	for adolescents and young adults who have special
25	health care needs; requiring the Department of Health
26	to work with community-based pediatric and adult
27	health care providers to explore and recommend the
28	development of local health and transition services
29	programs in each of the regions of the Children's
30	Medical Services Network; providing requirements for
31	program structure and design; specifying the services
32	that may be offered by local health and transition
33	services programs; requiring that at least one
34	proposed health and transition services program be
35	associated with each region of the Children's Medical
36	Services Network; requiring an evaluation of the
37	program; providing an effective date.
38
39	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
40
41	Section 1.  Legislative intent; health care transition
42	programs and services for adolescents and young adults who have
43	special health care needs.-
44	(1)  It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a
45	strategic and comprehensive approach to the development and
46	implementation of effective health care transition programs and
47	services for adolescents and young adults who have special
48	health care needs. The Health Care Transition Services Task
49	Force for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities developed a
50	statewide plan to promote the development of such health care
51	transition services in accordance with chapter 2008-211, Laws of
52	Florida, and outlined the plan in the task force's subsequent
53	report.
54	(2)  A program called the Florida Health And Transition
55	Services (FloridaHATS) is established within the Division of
56	Children's Medical Services Network, which shall be responsible
57	for:
58	(a)  Overseeing and implementing the national maternal and
59	child health goals, using existing state plans, in order to
60	implement effective transition programs for adolescents and
61	young adults who have special health care needs. As used in this
62	section, the term "adolescents and young adults who have special
63	health care needs" means individuals who are 12 through 26 years
64	of age; who have chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or
65	emotional conditions; and who require health care or related
66	services of a type or amount beyond that which is generally
67	required by adolescents or young adults.
68	(b)  Developing a planning and implementation process and
69	the necessary guides for use by community providers and
70	organizations in developing coordinated systems of services for
71	adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs.
72	The coordinated system of services shall include different
73	models that accommodate the geographic and cultural diversity in
74	the state and that are adapted to the local needs of communities
75	and to local health services delivery systems. Furthermore, the
76	models shall promote the integration of health care transition
77	services with transition programs in education, vocational
78	rehabilitation, and independent living, and shall address the
79	varying needs of subpopulations, such as students who are
80	enrolled in postsecondary educational institutions and
81	individuals in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems.
82	(c)  Developing and disseminating resource guides that
83	outline the various public and private health care financing
84	options, including commercial insurance, and the respective
85	health care benefits.
86	(d)  Coordinating the program with educational
87	institutions, including medical centers, to identify and make
88	available for health care providers existing training programs
89	regarding the principles, objectives, and methods for the
90	successful transition of adolescents and young adults who have
91	special health care needs to adult health care providers.
92	(e)  Maintaining and updating the FloridaHATS's website
93	with web-based materials related to health care transition
94	services which can be used by adolescents and young adults who
95	have special health care needs and their families, providers,
96	and others involved in health care transition.
97	(f)  Collecting and disseminating information in specific
98	clinical areas concerning evidenced-based practices and best
99	practices for providing health care transition services for
100	adolescents and young adults who have chronic special health
101	care needs or disabilities.
102	(g)  Providing technical assistance to communities,
103	providers, and organizations that are involved in the
104	development and implementation of systems of services for
105	adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs.
106	(h)  Developing and disseminating quality improvement and
107	evaluation components for health care transition programs. The
108	quality improvement and evaluation components must include a
109	common or comparable set of performance measures for all
110	entities that provide health care transition services for
111	adolescents and young adults who have special health care needs.
112	(i)  Establishing a network of experts in the fields of
113	pediatric and adolescent medicine, adult medicine, and allied
114	health to provide technical assistance and recommendations
115	regarding best practices and policy guidance in health care
116	transition.
117	(3)  The Department of Health shall work in partnership
118	with the Agency for Health Care Administration to identify
119	potential waiver or state plan options that address health care
120	provider compensation strategies, including, but not limited to,
121	co-management, care plan development and oversight, provision of
122	a medical home, and use of telehealth technology to improve
123	access to adult and specialty health care for adolescents and
124	young adults who have special health care needs.
125	(4)  The Department of Health shall work with the Office of
126	Insurance Regulation to explore and recommend effective policies
127	that address medical management and health care transition
128	services that are based on a patient-centered medical home model
129	for adolescents and young adults who have special health care
130	needs.
131	(5)  The Department of Health shall also work with
132	community-based pediatric and adult health care providers to
133	explore and recommend the development of local health and
134	transition services programs in each of the eight regions of the
135	Children's Medical Services Network which meet the following
136	requirements:
137	(a)  The proposed program structure and design must be
138	adapted to the needs of the local community and health services
139	delivery system; however, the following elements shall be in
140	place in order to ensure the success of a local health and
141	transition services program:
142	1.  A consultative partnership between adult and pediatric
143	health care providers in a major medical health care
144	organization or an academic medical setting for purposes of the
145	transition of adolescents and young adults to adult health care
146	services.
147	2.  Community-based health care services that are provided
148	under agreements with major health care organizations or
149	academic medical centers for the purpose of providing
150	consultation concerning the management of special health care
151	needs.
152	3.  Community-based support organizations that can provide
153	assistance with services such as supported living and
154	employment, health insurance, and support services to maintain
155	the young adult in the community.
156	4.  A medical home that provides for coordinated and
157	multidisciplinary care and focuses on engaging adult health care
158	providers in the care and treatment of adolescents or young
159	adults.
160	(b)  The following services must be offered by the local
161	health and transition services program to individuals who are
162	served in the local health and transition services program:
163	1.  An assessment of health needs, education and vocational
164	status and needs, and health insurance status.
165	2.  In coordination with the educational system, community-
166	based organizations, and the vocational system, a plan for
167	transition services, which includes adult health care services,
168	educational services, habilitative services, independent living
169	services, adult employment, and health insurance.
170	3.  Disease self-management programs.
171	(c)  There shall be at least one proposed transition
172	program associated with each one of the eight regions of the
173	Children's Medical Services Network.
174	(d)  The local health and transition services program shall
175	be evaluated by an organization or university that has expertise
176	and experience in evaluating health care programs. The
177	evaluation must be formative and cumulative and must include
178	program process and outcome measures, as well as client
179	outcomes. The results of the evaluation may be used by the
180	department to improve and develop other local health and
181	transition services programs.
182	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.

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