A qualified state Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership Program in Florida.

The Agency for Health Care Administration, in consultation with the Office of Insurance Regulation and the Department of Children and Families, is directed to establish a qualified state Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership Program in Florida, in compliance with the requirements of s. 1917(b) of the Social Security Act, as amended.

(1) The program shall:

(a) Provide incentives for an individual to obtain or maintain insurance to cover the cost of long-term care.

(b) Provide a mechanism to qualify for coverage of the costs of long-term care needs under Medicaid without first being required to substantially exhaust his or her assets, including a provision for the disregard of any assets in an amount equal to the insurance benefit payments that are made to or on behalf of an individual who is a beneficiary under the program.

(c) Alleviate the financial burden on the state’s medical assistance program by encouraging the pursuit of private initiatives.

(2) The Agency for Health Care Administration, in consultation with the Office of Insurance Regulation and the Department of Children and Families, and in accordance with federal guidelines, shall create standards for long-term care partnership program information distributed to individuals through insurance companies offering approved long-term care partnership program policies.

(3) The Department of Children and Families, when determining eligibility for Medicaid long-term care services for an individual who is the beneficiary of an approved long-term care partnership program policy, shall reduce the total countable assets of the individual by an amount equal to the insurance benefit payments that are made to or on behalf of the individual.