Proposals; application process; minimum requirements.

(1) Any county or counties which desire to receive state funding under ss. 154.501-154.506 shall submit an application to the department. The department shall develop an application process for the Primary Care for Children and Families Challenge Grant Program.

(2) Applications shall be competitively reviewed by an independent panel appointed by the State Surgeon General. This panel shall determine the relative weight for scoring and evaluating each of the following elements to be used in the evaluation process:

(a) The target population to be served.

(b) The health benefits to be provided.

(c) The proposed service network, including specific health care providers and health care facilities that will participate in the service network on a paid or voluntary basis.

(d) The methods that will be used to measure cost-effectiveness.

(e) How patient and provider satisfaction will be measured.

(f) The proposed internal quality assurance process.

(g) Projected health status outcomes.

(h) The way in which data to measure the cost-effectiveness, outcomes, and overall performance of the program will be collected, including a description of the proposed information system.

(i) All local resources, including cash, in-kind, voluntary, or other resources, that will be dedicated to the proposal.

(3) Preference shall be given to proposals which:

(a) Exceed the minimum local contribution requirements specified in s. 154.506.

(b) Demonstrate broad-based local support for the project, including, but not limited to, agreements to participate in the service network, letters of endorsement, or other forms of support.

(c) Demonstrate a high degree of participation by health care providers on a free or volunteer basis, or through financial contributions. This may include participation by publicly or privately funded health care providers, such as hospitals, county health departments, community health centers, or rural health clinics, in the service network.

(d) Are submitted by counties with a high proportion of children and families living in poverty and with poor health status indicators.

(e) Demonstrate coordinated service delivery with existing publicly financed health care programs, including those programs specified in s. 154.503(2)(e).

(4) Nothing in ss. 154.501-154.506 shall prevent a county or group of counties from contracting for the provision of health care services. A service network may include, but need not be limited to, special health care districts, county health departments, federally qualified health centers, community health centers, and rural health clinics.