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HB1315 • 2026

Behavioral Health Intervention Services

Behavioral Health Intervention Services

Budget Education Healthcare
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Tendrich
Last action
2026-03-13
Official status
House - Died in Health Care Facilities & Systems Subcommittee
Effective date
2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's status is 'Passed Legislature,' but it has not yet been signed into law or enacted. The effective date of July 1, 2026, is specified in the official text.

Behavioral Health Intervention Services

This bill allows the state Medicaid plan to fund a pilot program in five Florida counties that provides special health services for people with certain conditions if money is available.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a new section of Florida law about behavioral health intervention services.
  • Allows the state Medicaid plan to start a demonstration pilot program in Region G (five specific counties) if there is an appropriation from the government.
  • Requires the pilot program to provide special health services for people with depression or anxiety and diabetes, obesity, or heart disease.
  • Sets rules for how the pilot program should work, including who can participate and what kind of data needs to be collected.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People enrolled in Medicaid in Region G (Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Counties).
  • Healthcare providers who offer services under the state Medicaid plan.
  • The Florida Legislature, which will receive a report on the pilot program.

Terms To Know

De-risking disease behavioral health intervention services
Special health services that help people with both mental and physical health issues by providing counseling, nutrition therapy, tracking of health markers, education, and medically tailored meals or groceries.
Pilot program
A trial run of a new healthcare service to see if it works well before making it available everywhere.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill only applies in five specific Florida counties.
  • It is contingent upon an appropriation, meaning the government must set aside money for this program.
  • The pilot program will end on August 31, 2030.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-13 House

    • Died in Health Care Facilities & Systems Subcommittee

  2. 2026-01-15 House

    • Referred to Health Care Facilities & Systems Subcommittee • Referred to Health & Human Services Committee • Now in Health Care Facilities & Systems Subcommittee

  3. 2026-01-13 House

    • 1st Reading (Original Filed Version)

  4. 2026-01-08 House

    • Filed

Official Summary Text

Behavioral Health Intervention Services; Authorizes, contingent upon appropriation, state Medicaid plan to fund demonstration pilot program for specified purposes in specified counties; provides pilot program requirements; requires state Medicaid plan to provide specified report to Legislature in certain timeframe; provides for expiration of pilot program.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB 1315 2026

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hb1315-00
Page 1 of 5
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to behavioral health intervention 2
services; creating s. 409.9206, F.S.; providing 3
legislative findings and purpose; providing 4
definitions; authorizing, contingent upon an 5
appropriation, the state Medicaid plan to fund a 6
demonstration pilot program for specified purposes in 7
specified counties; providing pilot program 8
requirements; requiring the state Medicaid plan to 9
provide a specified report to the Legislature in a 10
certain timeframe; providing for expiration of the 11
pilot program; providing an effective date. 12
13
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
15
Section 1. Section 409.9206, Florida Statutes, is created 16
to read: 17
409.9206 De-risking disease behavioral health intervention 18
services pilot program.— 19
(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDING; PURPOSE.— 20
(a) The Legislature finds that under federal Medicaid 21
managed care regulations 42 CFR 438.3(e)(2) and 42 CFR 438.16, 22
the Agency for Health Care Administration may approve de-risking 23
disease behavioral health intervention services. 24
(b) The purpose of this section is to authorize the state 25

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

Medicaid plan to fund a demonstration pilot program that shall 26
provide a de-risking disease behavioral health intervention 27
services management plan to recipients of the state Medicaid 28
plan in Region G, which consists of Indian River, Martin, 29
Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Counties. 30
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 31
(a) "De-risking disease behavioral health intervention 32
services" means a set of five concurrent, chronic disease, self-33
management services and medical nutrition supports demonstrated 34
in scientific research to improve behavioral health and chronic 35
disease outcomes. The term includes: 36
1. Behavioral health counseling by a licensed clinical 37
social worker for lifestyle modifications for patients diagnosed 38
with depression and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. 39
2. Medical nutrition therapy by a registered dietitian 40
nutritionist for diet and lifestyle modifications for patients 41
with depression and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. 42
3. Biomarker health tracking, nudging, and reporting by 43
Diabetes Supply Services Coverage Policy approved devices 44
including HbA1C, blood sugar glucose, oxygen, heart rate, 45
lipids, weight, body mass index, blood pressures, and other 46
biomarkers. 47
4. Medical disease nutrition education designed for 48
depression or diabetes mellitus, and is evidence-based, and 49
demonstrated to improve measurable health outcomes. 50

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

5. Medical nutrition supports are evidence-based lifestyle 51
modification services demonstrated to improve health outcomes 52
for patients diagnosed with depression and diabetes mellitus, 53
and include clinical nutrition groceries, or home-delivered 54
medically tailored meals, or produce prescriptions, or other 55
evidence-based medically necessary nutrition interventions 56
demonstrated to be cost effective by scientific research 57
studies. 58
(b) "Participant" means a Medicaid enrollee recipient and 59
recipient family participating in the pilot program. 60
(c) "Pilot program" means the demonstration pilot program 61
established by the state Medicaid plan. 62
(3) PILOT PROGRAM.—Contingent upon an appropriation, the 63
state Medicaid plan may fund a demonstration pilot program to 64
provide behavioral health intervention services for Region G, 65
which consists of Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, 66
and St. Lucie Counties. 67
(a) Under the pilot program, Medicaid managed assistance 68
providers may offer de-risking disease behavioral health 69
intervention services: 70
1. In lieu of services specified in the state Medicaid 71
plan to an enrollee who is diagnosed with both of the following: 72
a. Depression or anxiety. 73
b. Diabetes mellitus, obesity, or coronary heart disease. 74
2. To 1,000 participants as a disease management plan. 75

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

(b) The design, evaluation, and outcomes shall be from a 76
research evaluation conducted by nutrition scientists at Tufts 77
University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, a 78
qualified and accredited academic institution specialized in 79
nutrition, and the Florida Health and Nutrition Coalition 80
program implementation experts. The pilot program shall: 81
1. Design the de-risking disease behavioral health 82
intervention services, diabetic supply services, chronic disease 83
self-management and education services, and medical nutrition 84
supports coverage in lieu of services. 85
2. Review and assess health outcomes, biomarkers and data 86
on the impact to the pilot program participant, their family, 87
and their children to evaluate the pilot program disease 88
management plan impact. 89
3. Collect data including, but not limited to, the rate by 90
which pilot program participants, family, and children comply 91
with de-risking disease behavioral health intervention services; 92
health outcomes and biomarkers associated with the participant, 93
their family, and their children; impact on diagnosis, chronic 94
health condition and disease symptoms. 95
(4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The state Medicaid plan shall: 96
(a) As soon as practicable after the expiration of the 97
pilot program, prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on 98
the number of times during the preceding year the de-risking 99
disease behavioral health intervention services were used in 100

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie 101
Counties, a summary of the data the state Medicaid plan 102
collected, and recommendations for any Legislative action. 103
(b) Consider the actual cost, measurable goals and health 104
outcomes met, and enrollee adherence of the de-risking disease 105
behavioral health intervention services when paying the 106
capitation rates for that organization under the contract. 107
(5) EXPIRATION.— 108
(a) The pilot program shall expire August 31, 2030. 109
(b) This section expires September 1, 2031. 110
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 111