SB 2508 Summary

• Allows hospitals, insurance companies, and their software providers to swipe driver licenses and identification cards to verify patient identity and Medicaid eligibility for fraud prevention purposes.

• Expands the definition of "rural hospital" to include sole community hospitals with up to 175 licensed beds and revises Medicaid appeals procedures so appeals for programs directly administered by the Agency for Health Care Administration go to that agency rather than the Department of Children and Families.

• Redefines eligibility for Florida Kidcare and Medicaid programs using the term "lawfully residing child" instead of "qualified alien," while explicitly excluding undocumented immigrants from program eligibility.

• Removes the limitation on emergency department visits that may be paid by Medicaid for certain recipients and authorizes the agency to seek federal approval for temporary housing assistance and home and community-based services for individuals with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome.

• Establishes Medicaid reimbursement for private schools and charter schools providing school-based services to eligible children, adds psychiatry as a primary care specialty under the Statewide Medicaid Residency Program, and authorizes Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) organizations to expand service areas in south Florida and Escambia County.