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HB 1491 2026
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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to Florida Health Plan trust fund; 2
creating s. 641.76, F.S.; creating the Florida Health 3
Fund for the Florida Health Plan; providing for the 4
administration of the fund; providing for sources of 5
funds and purpose; requiring claims for health care 6
services to be made to the fund; providing for 7
disbursement from the fund; providing for the accounts 8
in the fund; requiring moneys received by the fund to 9
be paid to a specified person; prohibiting such person 10
from commingling the funds with other moneys; 11
requiring necessary waivers, exemptions, agreements, 12
and legislation to be obtained for federal payments 13
for the fund; providing for future review and 14
termination or re-creation of the fund; amending s. 15
641.73, F.S.; defining the term "fund"; amending s. 16
641.74, F.S.; providing eligibility of certain 17
retirees for the plan under certain circumstances; 18
amending s. 641.77, F.S.; providing that the Florida 19
Health Plan's responsibility for providing health care 20
is secondary to existing federal programs if funding 21
for these programs is not transferred to the fund; 22
amending s. 641.78, F.S.; requiring collateral sources 23
to pay a certain sum to the fund under certain 24
circumstances; amending s. 641.793, F.S.; providing 25
HB 1491 2026
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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
duties of the Florida Health Board relating to the 26
fund; amending s. 641.797, F.S.; providing duties of 27
the plan auditor relating to the fund; providing an 28
appropriation; amending s. 641.798, F.S.; providing 29
applicability of the Code of Ethics for Public 30
Officers and Employees to the employees and the 31
director of the fund; providing an appropriation; 32
providing a contingent effective date. 33
34
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 35
36
Section 1. Section 641.76, Florida Statutes, is created to 37
read: 38
641.76 Florida Health Fund.— 39
(1) The Florida Health Fund, a revolving fund, is 40
established under the jurisdiction and control of the Florida 41
Health Board to implement the Florida Health Plan and to receive 42
premiums and other sources of revenue. The fund shall be 43
administered by a director appointed by the board. 44
(a) All moneys collected, received, and transferred 45
according to this section shall be deposited in the fund. Moneys 46
deposited in the fund shall be used exclusively to finance the 47
plan. 48
(b) All claims for health care services rendered shall be 49
made to the fund. Payments made for health care services shall 50
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be disbursed from the fund. 51
(c) Revenues collected each year must be sufficient to 52
cover that year's projected costs for the plan. 53
(2)(a) The fund shall have operating, capital, and reserve 54
accounts. 55
1. The operating account in the fund comprises the 56
following accounts: 57
a. Medical services account. The medical services account 58
must be used to provide for all medical services and benefits 59
covered under the plan. 60
b. Prevention account. The prevention account must be used 61
to establish and maintain primary community prevention programs, 62
including preventive screening tests. 63
c. Program administration, evaluation, planning, and 64
assessment account. The program administration, evaluation, 65
planning, and assessment account must be used to monitor and 66
improve the plan's effectiveness and operations. The board may 67
establish grant programs, including demonstration projects, for 68
the account's purpose. 69
d. Training and development account. The training and 70
development account must be used to incentivize the training and 71
development of health care providers and the health care 72
workforce needed to meet the health care needs of the 73
population. 74
e. Health service research account. The health service 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
research account must be used to support research and innovation 76
as determined by the board and recommended by the Office of 77
Health Quality and Planning and the Ombudsman Office for Patient 78
Advocacy. 79
2. The capital account must be used to pay for capital 80
expenditures for institutional providers. 81
3. The reserve account must at all times hold an amount 82
estimated in the aggregate to provide for the payment of all 83
losses and claims for which the plan may be liable and to 84
provide for the expense of adjustment or settlement of losses 85
and claims. 86
(b) Money currently held in reserve by state, city, and 87
county health programs must be transferred to the fund when the 88
plan replaces those programs. 89
(c) The board shall have provisions in place to insure the 90
plan against unforeseen expenditures or revenue shortfalls not 91
covered by the reserve account. The board may borrow money to 92
cover temporary shortfalls. 93
(3)(a) All moneys received by the fund shall be paid to 94
the Director of the Office of Finance and Budget as agent of the 95
board, who may not commingle these funds with any other money. 96
The moneys in these accounts shall be paid out on warrants drawn 97
by the commissioner on requisition by the board. 98
(b) The fund shall be separate from the State Treasury. 99
The board shall manage the fund and has exclusive authority over 100
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the fund. 101
(4)(a) The board shall: 102
1. Determine the aggregate cost of providing health care 103
according to this part. 104
2. Coordinate with existing, ongoing funding sources from 105
federal and state programs. 106
(b) All federal funding received by this state shall be 107
appropriated to the fund to be used to administer the plan under 108
this part. Federal funding that is received for implementing and 109
administering the plan shall be used to provide health care for 110
residents of this state. 111
(c) The chief executive officer of the Florida Health Plan 112
and, if required under federal law, the Secretary of Commerce 113
shall seek waivers, exemptions, agreements, or legislation 114
necessary for all current federal payments to this state to be 115
sent directly to the fund. If any required waiver, exemption, 116
agreement, or legislation is obtained, the plan must assume 117
responsibility for all health care benefits and health care 118
services previously paid for with federal funds. In obtaining 119
the waivers, exemptions, agreements, or legislation, the chief 120
executive officer and, if required, the secretary shall seek 121
from the Federal Government a contribution for health care 122
services in this state which: 123
1. Reflects medical inflation, the state gross domestic 124
product, the size and age of the population, the number of 125
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residents living below the poverty level, and the number of 126
individuals eligible for Medicare and veterans' benefits. 127
2. Does not decrease in relation to the federal 128
contribution to other states as a result of the waivers, 129
exemptions, agreements, or savings from implementation of the 130
plan. 131
(5) In accordance with s. 19(f)(2), Art. III of the State 132
Constitution, the Florida Health Fund shall, unless terminated 133
sooner, be terminated on July 1, 2030. Before its scheduled 134
termination, the trust fund shall be reviewed as provided in s. 135
215.3206(1) and (2). 136
Section 2. Subsections (2) through (6) of section 641.73, 137
Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1489, 2026 Regular Session, 138
are renumbered as subsections (3) through (7), respectively, and 139
a new subsection (2) is added to that section, to read: 140
641.73 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term: 141
(2) "Fund" means the Florida Health Fund established in s. 142
641.76. 143
Section 3. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 144
641.74, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1489, 2026 Regular 145
Session, is amended to read: 146
641.74 Eligibility for and enrollment in the Florida 147
Health Plan.— 148
(1) ELIGIBILITY.— 149
(f) All persons who are eligible for retiree health care 150
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benefits under an employer-employee contract remain eligible for 151
those benefits if the contractually mandated payments for those 152
benefits are made to the Florida Health Fund. The fund must 153
assume financial responsibility for care provided under the 154
terms of the contract along with additional health benefits 155
covered by the plan. A retiree who is covered under the plan and 156
who elects to reside outside of this state is eligible for 157
benefits under the terms and conditions of the retiree's 158
employer-employee contract. 159
Section 4. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 160
641.77, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1489, 2026 Regular 161
Session, is amended to read: 162
641.77 Federal preemption.— 163
(2) 164
(c) The Florida Health Plan's responsibility for providing 165
health care is secondary to existing federal programs for health 166
care services to the extent that funding for these programs is 167
not transferred to the Florida Health Fund or that the transfer 168
is delayed beyond the date on which initial benefits are 169
provided under the plan. 170
Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 171
641.78, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1489, 2026 Regular 172
Session, is amended to read: 173
641.78 Subrogation.— 174
(4) If a person who receives health care services under 175
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the plan is entitled to coverage, reimbursement, indemnity, or 176
other compensation from a collateral source, the person must 177
notify the health care provider and provide information 178
identifying the collateral source, the nature and extent of 179
coverage or entitlement, and other relevant information. The 180
health care provider shall forward this information to the 181
board. The person entitled to coverage, reimbursement, 182
indemnity, or other compensation from a collateral source must 183
provide additional information as requested by the board. 184
(a) The plan shall seek reimbursement from the collateral 185
source for services provided to the person and may take 186
appropriate action, including legal proceedings, to recover the 187
reimbursement. Upon demand, the collateral source shall pay to 188
the Florida Health Fund the sum that it would have paid or spent 189
on behalf of the person for the health care services provided by 190
the plan. 191
Section 6. Paragraphs (d) through (o) of subsection (3) of 192
section 641.793, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1489, 2026 193
Regular Session, are redesignated as paragraphs (e) through (p), 194
respectively, subsection (1) is amended, a new paragraph (d) is 195
added to subsection (3), and paragraph (h) is added to 196
subsection (5) of that section, to read: 197
641.793 Florida Health Board.— 198
(1) By December 1, 2026, the Florida Health Board shall be 199
established to promote the delivery of high-quality, coordinated 200
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health care services that enhance health; prevent illness, 201
disease, and disability; slow the progression of chronic 202
diseases; and improve personal health management. The board 203
shall administer the Florida Health Plan. The board shall 204
oversee: 205
(a) The Office of Health Quality and Planning established 206
in s. 641.795. 207
(b) The Florida Health Fund. 208
(3) The board shall: 209
(d) Hire a director for the Florida Health Fund, who must 210
take the oath described in paragraph (2)(b). 211
(5) The board has the following financial duties: 212
(h) Administer the Florida Health Fund, annually determine 213
the appropriate level for the plan reserve account, and 214
implement policies needed to establish the appropriate reserve. 215
Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 216
641.797, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1489, 2026 Regular 217
Session, is amended to read: 218
641.797 Auditor for the Florida Health Plan.— 219
(2) The auditor for the Florida Health Plan shall: 220
(a) Investigate, audit, and review the financial and 221
business records of the plan and the Florida Health Fund. 222
Section 8. Subsection (1) of section 641.798, Florida 223
Statutes, as created by HB 1489, 2026 Regular Session, is 224
amended to read: 225
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641.798 Ethics and conflicts of interest; Conflict of 226
Interest Committee.— 227
(1) The Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees 228
under part III of chapter 112 applies to the employees and the 229
chief executive officer of the Florida Health Plan, the 230
employees and members of the Florida Health Board, the employees 231
and members of the regional planning boards and the regional 232
health planning directors, the employees and the director of the 233
Florida Health Fund, the employees and the director of the 234
Office of Health Quality and Planning, the employees and the 235
ombudsman of the Ombudsman Office for Patient Advocacy, and the 236
auditor for the Florida Health Plan. Failure to comply with the 237
code of ethics under part III of chapter 112 is grounds for 238
disciplinary action, which may include termination of employment 239
or removal from the board. 240
Section 9. For the 2026-2027 fiscal year, an adequate sum 241
is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Florida 242
Health Fund under the Florida Health Plan to provide startup 243
funding for the provisions of this act and the immediate 244
establishment of an exploratory staff to pursue the foundation 245
of this act. 246
Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026, but 247
only if HB 1489 or similar legislation is adopted in the same 248
legislative session or an extension thereof and becomes a law. 249