§ 11.6-34. Plan for providing health care services.

"Polk County Health Care Plan" hereinafter referred to as the "plan", contains Polk County's plan for providing health care services to qualified residents. This plan, the same being hereby incorporated by this reference as a part of this ordinance, is identified and marked by the date "December 3, 2003, as Amended 2011". Said plan, for purposes of convenience, shall be maintained separate and apart from this ordinance and the plan may be updated from time to time by amendment of this ordinance.

The Polk County Health Care Plan, and subsequent amendments to it, shall fund a broad range of health care services for indigent persons and the medically poor, including, but not limited to, primary care and preventive care, as well as hospital care. It shall emphasize a continuity of care in the most cost effective setting, taking into consideration a high quality of care and geographic access. Where consistent with these objectives, it shall include, without limitation, services rendered by physicians, clinics, community hospitals, mental health centers, and alternative delivery sites, as well as at least one regional referral hospital where appropriate. It shall provide that agreements negotiated between the county and providers shall include reimbursement methodologies that take into account the cost of services rendered to eligible patients, recognize hospitals that render a disproportionate share of indigent care, provide other incentives to promote the delivery of charity care, and require cost containment, including, but not limited to, case management. The plan must also include innovative health care programs that provide cost-effective alternatives to traditional methods of service delivery and funding. The plan shall permit the payment of mandatory Medicaid contributions required by Section 409.915, Florida Statutes, for qualified residents as authorized by AGO2005-54.

(Ord. No. 03-89, § 4, 12-3-03; Ord. No. 2011-005, § 1(4), 4-26-11)