Eligible plans; selection.

(1) ELIGIBLE PLANS.—Services in the Medicaid managed care program shall be provided by eligible plans. A provider service network must be capable of providing all covered services to a mandatory Medicaid managed care enrollee or may limit the provision of services to a specific target population based on the age, chronic disease state, or medical condition of the enrollee to whom the network will provide services. A specialty provider service network must be capable of coordinating care and delivering or arranging for the delivery of all covered services to the target population. A provider service network may partner with an insurer licensed under chapter 627 or a health maintenance organization licensed under chapter 641 to meet the requirements of a Medicaid contract.

(2) ELIGIBLE PLAN SELECTION.—The agency shall select a limited number of eligible plans to participate in the Medicaid program using invitations to negotiate in accordance with s. 287.057(1)(c). At least 90 days before issuing an invitation to negotiate, the agency shall compile and publish a databook consisting of a comprehensive set of utilization and spending data consistent with actuarial rate-setting practices and standards. The source of the data in the databook must include, at a minimum, the 24 most recent months of validated data from the Medicaid Encounter Data System, and the databook must delineate utilization use by age, gender, eligibility group, geographic area, and aggregate clinical risk score. The statewide managed care program includes the following regions:

(a) Region A, which consists of Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington Counties.

(b) Region B, which consists of Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Union, and Volusia Counties.

(c) Region C, which consists of Pasco and Pinellas Counties.

(d) Region D, which consists of Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Polk Counties.

(e) Region E, which consists of Brevard, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties.

(f) Region F, which consists of Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee, and Sarasota Counties.

(g) Region G, which consists of Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Counties.

(h) Region H, which consists of Broward County.

(i) Region I, which consists of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.

(3) QUALITY SELECTION CRITERIA.—

(a) The invitation to negotiate must specify the criteria and the relative weight of the criteria that will be used for determining the acceptability of the reply and guiding the selection of the organizations with which the agency negotiates. In addition to criteria established by the agency, the agency shall consider the following factors in the selection of eligible plans:

1. Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the Joint Commission, or another nationally recognized accrediting body.

2. Experience serving similar populations, including the organization’s record in achieving specific quality standards with similar populations.

3. Availability and accessibility of primary care and specialty physicians in the provider network.

4. Establishment of community partnerships with providers that create opportunities for reinvestment in community-based services.

5. Organization commitment to quality improvement and documentation of achievements in specific quality improvement projects, including active involvement by organization leadership.

6. Provision of additional benefits, particularly dental care and disease management, and other initiatives that improve health outcomes.

7. Evidence that an eligible plan has obtained signed contracts or written agreements or has made substantial progress in establishing relationships with providers before the plan submits a response.

8. Comments submitted in writing by any enrolled Medicaid provider relating to a specifically identified plan participating in the procurement in the same region as the submitting provider.

9. Documentation of policies and procedures for preventing fraud and abuse.

10. The business relationship an eligible plan has with any other eligible plan that responds to the invitation to negotiate.

(b) An eligible plan must disclose any business relationship it has with any other eligible plan that responds to the invitation to negotiate. The agency may not select plans in the same region for the same managed care program that have a business relationship with each other. Failure to disclose any business relationship shall result in disqualification from participation in any region for the first full contract period after the discovery of the business relationship by the agency. For the purpose of this section, “business relationship” means an ownership or controlling interest, an affiliate or subsidiary relationship, a common parent, or any mutual interest in any limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, or other entity or business association, including all wholly or partially owned subsidiaries, majority-owned subsidiaries, parent companies, or affiliates of such entities, business associations, or other enterprises, that exists for the purpose of making a profit.

(c) After negotiations are conducted, the agency shall select the eligible plans that are determined to be responsive and provide the best value to the state. Preference shall be given to plans that:

1. Have signed contracts with primary and specialty physicians in sufficient numbers to meet the specific standards established pursuant to s. 409.967(2)(c).

2. Have well-defined programs for recognizing patient-centered medical homes and providing for increased compensation for recognized medical homes, as defined by the plan.

3. Are organizations that are based in and perform operational functions in this state, in-house or through contractual arrangements, by staff located in this state. Using a tiered approach, the highest number of points shall be awarded to a plan that has all or substantially all of its operational functions performed in the state. The second highest number of points shall be awarded to a plan that has a majority of its operational functions performed in the state. The agency may establish a third tier; however, preference points may not be awarded to plans that perform only community outreach, medical director functions, and state administrative functions in the state. For purposes of this subparagraph, operational functions include corporate headquarters, claims processing, member services, provider relations, utilization and prior authorization, case management, disease and quality functions, and finance and administration. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “corporate headquarters” means the principal office of the organization, which may not be a subsidiary, directly or indirectly through one or more subsidiaries of, or a joint venture with, any other entity whose principal office is not located in the state.

4. Have contracts or other arrangements for cancer disease management programs that have a proven record of clinical efficiencies and cost savings.

5. Have contracts or other arrangements for diabetes disease management programs that have a proven record of clinical efficiencies and cost savings.

6. Have a claims payment process that ensures that claims that are not contested or denied will be promptly paid pursuant to s. 641.3155.

(d) The agency may not execute contracts with managed care plans at payment rates not supported by the General Appropriations Act.

(4) ADMINISTRATIVE CHALLENGE.—Any eligible plan that participates in an invitation to negotiate may not begin serving Medicaid recipients until all administrative challenges to procurements required by this section to which the eligible plan is a party have been finalized. If the number of plans selected is less than the maximum amount of plans permitted in the region, the agency may contract with other selected plans in the region not participating in the administrative challenge before resolution of the administrative challenge. For purposes of this subsection, an administrative challenge is finalized if an order granting voluntary dismissal with prejudice has been entered by any court established under Article V of the State Constitution or by the Division of Administrative Hearings, a final order has been entered into by the agency and the deadline for appeal has expired, a final order has been entered by the First District Court of Appeal and the time to seek any available review by the Florida Supreme Court has expired, or a final order has been entered by the Florida Supreme Court and a warrant has been issued.