The Florida Senate

154.304  Definitions.--For the purpose of this act:

(1)  "Board" means the Health Care Board as established in chapter 408.

(2)  "Certification determination procedures" means the process used by the county of residence or the department to determine a person's county of residence.

(3)  "Certified resident" means a United States citizen or lawfully admitted alien who has been certified as a resident of the county by a person designated by the county governing body to provide certification determination procedures for the county in which the patient resides; by the department if such county does not make a determination of residency within 60 days of receiving a certified letter from the treating hospital; or by the department if the hospital appeals the decision of the county making such determination.

(4)  "Charity care obligation" means the minimum amount of uncompensated charity care as reported to the Agency for Health Care Administration, based on the hospital's most recent audited actual experience, which must be provided by a participating hospital or a regional referral hospital before the hospital is eligible to be reimbursed by a county under the provisions of this act. That amount shall be the ratio of uncompensated charity care days compared to total acute care inpatient days, which shall be equal to or greater than 2 percent.

(5)  "Department" means the Department of Health.

(6)  "Eligibility determination procedures" means the process used by a county or the department to evaluate a person's financial eligibility, eligibility for state-funded or federally funded programs, and the availability of insurance, in order to document a person as a qualified indigent for the purpose of this act.

(7)  "Hospital," for the purposes of this act, means an establishment as defined in s. 395.002 and licensed by the department which qualifies as either a participating hospital or as a regional referral hospital pursuant to this section; except that, hospitals operated by the department shall not be considered participating hospitals for purposes of this act.

(8)  "Participating hospital" means a hospital which is eligible to receive reimbursement under the provisions of this act because it has been certified by the board as having met its charity care obligation and has either:

(a)  A formal signed agreement with a county or counties to treat such county's indigent patients; or

(b)  Demonstrated to the board that at least 2.5 percent of its uncompensated charity care, as reported to the board, is generated by out-of-county residents.

(9)  "Qualified indigent person" or "qualified indigent patient" means a person who has been determined pursuant to s. 154.308 to have an average family income, for the 12 months preceding the determination, which is below 100 percent of the federal nonfarm poverty level; who is not eligible to participate in any other government program which provides hospital care; who has no private insurance or has inadequate private insurance; and who does not reside in a public institution as defined under the medical assistance program for the needy under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, as amended.

(10)  "Regional referral hospital" means any hospital which is eligible to receive reimbursement under the provision of this act because it has met its charity care obligation and it meets the definition of teaching hospital as defined in s. 408.07.

History.--s. 4, ch. 77-455; s. 18, ch. 85-80; s. 8, ch. 88-294; s. 4, ch. 90-295; s. 6, ch. 91-48; s. 5, ch. 91-173; s. 85, ch. 92-33; s. 11, ch. 97-95; s. 23, ch. 97-101.