The Florida Senate and House passed on May 6 the final version of a Medicaid reform plan that would establish a statewide, managed care program under which most of Florida’s 3 million Medicaid recipients would be required to enroll. It would cover nearly all acute and long term care services covered under Florida’s $20 billion Medicaid program. The legislation (CS/HB 7107 and 7109) would be effective July 1, 2011. It builds on a pilot launched in Broward, Duval, Baker, Clay and Nassau counties in 2006 under a demonstration waiver approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a five year period ending June 30, 2011. Governor Scott has asked CMS to expedite approval of a five year extension which is needed to permit timely implementation of the new plan. The Governor is expected to sign the new legislation shortly. The legislation authorizes Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) to initiate a competitive bidding process to award five year contracts with managed care organizations to serve one or more of seven districts encompassing all 67 counties in the State. It authorizes AHCA to develop appropriate performance standards under these contracts. Selection factors include accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) or equivalent, continuous quality improvement programs, accessibility of primary care physicians and specialty services, disease management programs, physicians’ use of electronic health records, safeguards against fraud and abuse, programs to reward recipients for behaviors contributing to good health, and options for consumer-directed services. Preference also will be given to MCOs demonstrating a commitment to subcontracting with innovative service delivery models such as patient-centered medical homes and accountable care organizations (ACOs).