Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1605 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version Filed 02/28/2025

                               
 
HB 1605   	2025 
 
 
 
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A bill to be entitled 1 
An act relating to trust funds; creating s. 641.76, 2 
F.S.; creating the Florida Health Fund for the Florida 3 
Health Plan; providing for the administration of the 4 
fund; providing for sources of funds and purpose; 5 
requiring claims for health care services to b e made 6 
to the fund; providing for disbursement from the fund; 7 
providing for the accounts in the fund; requiring 8 
moneys received by the fund to be paid to a specified 9 
person; prohibiting such person from commingling the 10 
funds with other moneys; requiring ne cessary waivers, 11 
exemptions, agreements, and legislation to be obtained 12 
for federal payments for the fund; providing for 13 
future review and termination or re -creation of the 14 
fund; amending s. 641.73, F.S.; defining the term 15 
"fund"; amending s. 641.74, F.S.; providing 16 
eligibility of certain retirees for the plan under 17 
certain circumstances; amending s. 641.77, F.S.; 18 
providing that the Florida Health Plan's 19 
responsibility for providing health care is secondary 20 
to existing Federal Government programs if funding for 21 
these programs is not transferred to the fund; 22 
amending s. 641.78, F.S.; requiring collateral sources 23 
to pay a certain sum to the fund under certain 24 
circumstances; amending s. 641.793, F.S.; providing 25     
 
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duties of the Florida Health Board relating to the 26 
fund; amending s. 641.796, F.S.; providing 27 
applicability of the Code of Ethics for Public 28 
Officers and Employees to the employees and the 29 
director of the fund; amending s. 641.798, F.S.; 30 
providing duties of the plan auditor relating to the 31 
fund; providing an appropriation; providing a 32 
contingent effective date. 33 
 34 
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 35 
 36 
 Section 1.  Section 641.76, Florida Statutes, is created to 37 
read: 38 
 641.76  Florida Health Fund. — 39 
 (1)  The Florida Health Fund, a r evolving fund, is 40 
established under the jurisdiction and control of the Florida 41 
Health Board to implement the Florida Health Plan and to receive 42 
premiums and other sources of revenue. The fund shall be 43 
administered by a director appointed by the board. 44 
 (a)  All moneys collected, received, and transferred 45 
according to this section shall be deposited in the fund. Moneys 46 
deposited in the fund shall be used exclusively to finance the 47 
plan. 48 
 (b)  All claims for health care services rendered shall be 49 
made to the fund. Payments made for health care services shall 50     
 
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be disbursed from the fund. 51 
 (c)  Revenues collected each year must be sufficient to 52 
cover that year's projected costs for the plan. 53 
 (2)(a)  The fund shall have operating, capital, and reserve 54 
accounts. 55 
 1.  The operating account in the fund comprises the 56 
following accounts: 57 
 a.  Medical services account. The medical services account 58 
must be used to provide for all medical services and benefits 59 
covered under the plan. 60 
 b.  Prevention account. The preventi on account must be used 61 
to establish and maintain primary community prevention programs, 62 
including preventive screening tests. 63 
 c.  Program administration, evaluation, planning, and 64 
assessment account. The program administration, evaluation, 65 
planning, and assessment account must be used to monitor and 66 
improve the plan's effectiveness and operations. The board may 67 
establish grant programs, including demonstration projects, for 68 
the account's purpose. 69 
 d.  Training and development account. The training and 70 
development account must be used to incentivize the training and 71 
development of health care providers and the health care 72 
workforce needed to meet the health care needs of the 73 
population. 74 
 e.  Health service research account. The health service 75     
 
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research account must be used to support research and innovation 76 
as determined by the board and recommended by the Office of 77 
Health Quality and Planning and the Ombudsman Office for Patient 78 
Advocacy. 79 
 2.  The capital account must be used to pay for capital 80 
expenditures for institutional providers. 81 
 3.  The reserve account must at all times hold an amount 82 
estimated in the aggregate to provide for the payment of all 83 
losses and claims for which the plan may be liable and to 84 
provide for the expense of adjustment or sett lement of losses 85 
and claims. 86 
 (b)  Money currently held in reserve by state, city, and 87 
county health programs must be transferred to the fund when the 88 
plan replaces those programs. 89 
 (c)  The board shall have provisions in place to insure the 90 
plan against unforeseen expenditures or revenue shortfalls not 91 
covered by the reserve account. The board may borrow money to 92 
cover temporary shortfalls. 93 
 (3)(a)  All moneys received by the fund shall be paid to 94 
the Director of the Office of Finance and Budget as agent o f the 95 
board, who may not commingle these funds with any other money. 96 
The moneys in these accounts shall be paid out on warrants drawn 97 
by the commissioner on requisition by the board. 98 
 (b)  The fund shall be separate from the State Treasury. 99 
The board shall manage the fund and has exclusive authority over 100     
 
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the fund. 101 
 (4)(a)  The board shall: 102 
 1.  Determine the aggregate cost of providing health care 103 
according to this part. 104 
 2.  Coordinate with existing, ongoing funding sources from 105 
federal and state programs. 106 
 (b)  All federal funding received by this state shall be 107 
appropriated to the fund to be used to administer the plan under 108 
this part. Federal funding that is received for implementing and 109 
administering the plan shall be used to provide health care for 110 
residents of this state. 111 
 (c)  The chief executive officer of the Florida Health Plan 112 
and, if required under federal law, the Secretary of Commerce 113 
shall seek waivers, exemptions, agreements, or legislation 114 
necessary for all current federal payments to this s tate to be 115 
sent directly to the fund. If any required waiver, exemption, 116 
agreement, or legislation is obtained, the plan must assume 117 
responsibility for all health care benefits and health care 118 
services previously paid for with federal funds. In obtaining 119 
the waivers, exemptions, agreements, or legislation, the chief 120 
executive officer and, if required, the secretary shall seek 121 
from the Federal Government a contribution for health care 122 
services in this state which: 123 
 1.  Reflects medical inflation, the state g ross domestic 124 
product, the size and age of the population, the number of 125     
 
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residents living below the poverty level, and the number of 126 
individuals eligible for Medicare and veterans' benefits. 127 
 2.  Does not decrease in relation to the federal 128 
contribution to other states as a result of the waivers, 129 
exemptions, agreements, or savings from implementation of the 130 
plan. 131 
 (5)  In accordance with s. 19(f)(2), Art. III of the State 132 
Constitution, the Florida Health Fund shall, unless terminated 133 
sooner, be terminated o n July 1, 2029. Before its scheduled 134 
termination, the trust fund shall be reviewed as provided in s. 135 
215.3206(1) and (2). 136 
 Section 2.  Subsections (2) through (6) of section 641.73, 137 
Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1603, 2025 Regular Session, 138 
are renumbered as subsections (3) through (7), respectively, and 139 
a new subsection (2) is added to that section, to read: 140 
 641.73  Definitions. —As used in this part, the term: 141 
 (2)  "Fund" means the Florida Health Fund established in s. 142 
641.76. 143 
 Section 3.  Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 144 
641.74, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1603, 2025 Regular 145 
Session, is amended to read: 146 
 641.74  Eligibility for and enrollment in the Florida 147 
Health Plan.— 148 
 (1)  ELIGIBILITY.— 149 
 (f)  All persons who are eligible for retiree health care 150     
 
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benefits under an employer -employee contract remain eligible for 151 
those benefits if the contractually mandated payments for those 152 
benefits are made to the Florida Health Fund. The fund must 153 
assume financial responsibility for care provid ed under the 154 
terms of the contract along with additional health benefits 155 
covered by the plan. A retiree who is covered under the plan and 156 
who elects to reside outside of this state is eligible for 157 
benefits under the terms and conditions of the retiree's 158 
employer-employee contract. 159 
 Section 4.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 160 
641.77, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1603, 2025 Regular 161 
Session, is amended to read: 162 
 641.77  Federal preemption. — 163 
 (2) 164 
 (c)  The Florida Health Plan's responsibility for providing 165 
health care is secondary to existing Federal Government programs 166 
for health care services to the extent that funding for these 167 
programs is not transferred to the Florida Health Fund or that 168 
the transfer is delayed beyond the date on which in itial 169 
benefits are provided under the plan. 170 
 Section 5.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 171 
641.78, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1603, 2025 Regular 172 
Session, is amended to read: 173 
 641.78  Subrogation. — 174 
 (4)  If a person who receives health care services under 175     
 
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the plan is entitled to coverage, reimbursement, indemnity, or 176 
other compensation from a collateral source, the person must 177 
notify the health care provider and provide information 178 
identifying the collateral source, the nature and extent of 179 
coverage or entitlement, and other relevant information. The 180 
health care provider shall forward this information to the 181 
board. The person entitled to coverage, reimbursement, 182 
indemnity, or other compensation from a collateral source must 183 
provide additional information as requested by the board. 184 
 (a)  The plan shall seek reimbursement from the collateral 185 
source for services provided to the person and may take 186 
appropriate action, including legal proceedings, to recover the 187 
reimbursement. Upon demand, the collateral source shall pay to 188 
the Florida Health Fund the sum that it would have paid or spent 189 
on behalf of the person for the health care services provided by 190 
the plan. 191 
 Section 6.  Paragraphs (d) through (o) of subsection (3) of 192 
section 641.793, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1603, 2025 193 
Regular Session, are redesignated as paragraphs (e) through (p) 194 
of that subsection, subsection (1) is amended, a new paragraph 195 
(d) is added to subsection (3), and paragraph (h) is added to 196 
subsection (5) of that section, to read: 197 
 641.793  Florida Health Board .— 198 
 (1)  By December 1, 2025, the Florida Health Board shall be 199 
established to promote the delivery of high -quality, coordinated 200     
 
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health care services that enhance health; prevent illness, 201 
disease, and disability; slow the progression of chronic 202 
diseases; and improve personal health management. The board 203 
shall administer the Florida Health Plan. The board shall 204 
oversee: 205 
 (a) The Office of Health Quality and Planning established 206 
in s. 641.795. 207 
 (b)  The Florida Health Fund. 208 
 (3)  The board shall: 209 
 (d)  Hire a director for the Florida Health Fund, who must 210 
take the oath described in paragraph (2)(b). 211 
 (5)  The board has the following financial duties: 212 
 (h)  Administer the Florida Health Fund , annually determine 213 
the appropriate level for the plan reserve accoun t, and 214 
implement policies needed to establish the appropriate reserve. 215 
 Section 7.  Subsection (1) of section 641.796, Florida 216 
Statutes, as created by HB 1603, 2025 Regular Session, is 217 
amended to read: 218 
 641.796  Ethics and conflicts of interest; Conflict of 219 
Interest Committee.— 220 
 (1)  The Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees 221 
under part III of chapter 112 applies to the employees and the 222 
chief executive officer of the Florida Health Plan, the 223 
employees and members of the Florida Health Board, th e employees 224 
and members of the regional planning boards and the regional 225     
 
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health planning directors, the employees and the director of the 226 
Florida Health Fund, the employees and the director of the 227 
Office of Health Quality and Planning, the employees and th e 228 
ombudsman of the Ombudsman Office for Patient Advocacy, and the 229 
auditor for the Florida Health Plan. Failure to comply with the 230 
code of ethics under part III of chapter 112 is grounds for 231 
disciplinary action, which may include termination of employment 232 
or removal from the board. 233 
 Section 8.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 234 
641.798, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1603, 2025 Regular 235 
Session, is amended to read: 236 
 641.798  Auditor for the Florida Health Plan. — 237 
 (2)  The auditor for the Florid a Health Plan shall: 238 
 (a)  Investigate, audit, and review the financial and 239 
business records of the plan and the Florida Health Fund . 240 
 Section 9. For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, an adequate sum 241 
is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Florida 242 
Health Fund under the Florida Health Plan to provide startup 243 
funding for the provisions of this act and the immediate 244 
establishment of an exploratory staff to pursue the foundation 245 
of this act. 246 
 Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025, but 247 
only if HB 1603 or similar legislation is adopted in the same 248 
legislative session or an extension thereof and becomes a law. 249