The legislation is intended to help rein in the growing costs of the state’s Medicaid program. The Senate passed the overhaul on Friday morning and was followed by the House later in the day. Florida Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign the legislation into law.
The legislation creates 11 HMO regions in which managed care plans would compete for contracts for each region. Seniors covered by Medicaid who require long-term care would have to enroll in a managed-care plan by Oct. 2013. The broader Medicaid population would be enrolled by Oct. 2014, according to the report.
Before the overhaul can go into effect, however, CMS will have to approve the changes.
Last week, CMS said it would not approve an initial request for approval because legislation had not been passed. CMS did however say that if the state passed legislation, it would consider approving the plan if it addressed quality of care and transparency.
Read the Kaiser Health News report on Florida Medicaid.
Related articles on Florida Medicaid:
CMS Won’t Let Florida Privatize Medicaid Program for Now
Florida House Passes Legislation to Shift Medicaid Recipients Into HMO-Style Plans
Florida Hospitals Eye Taking Insurance Risk in New Medicaid HMOs
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