SESSION WATCH
Died SENATE · SESSION 2026

No. SB 1470

Behavioral Health Intervention Services
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SPONSOR
Bernard
FILED BY
Mack Bernard — District 24, Democrat [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026
DIED IN
Health Policy

Filed under Healthcare.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Behavioral Health Intervention Services; Authorizing, contingent upon an appropriation, the state Medicaid plan to fund a demonstration pilot program in a specified region for specified purposes; authorizing Medicaid managed assistance providers to offer specified intervention services to certain participants under the pilot program; requiring the state Medicaid plain to consider certain factors when paying certain capitation rates, etc.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Creates a Medicaid pilot offering nutrition and counseling instead of standard care.

A new Medicaid pilot would let managed care plans offer counseling, nutrition therapy, and biomarker tracking to patients with both a mental health diagnosis and diabetes, obesity, or heart disease. It only starts if the Legislature appropriates funding.

The pilot runs only in five counties -- Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie -- and is capped at 1,000 participants. Enrolled patients get this alternative bundle instead of standard Medicaid-covered services.

Design and evaluation of the pilot must come from researchers at Tufts University's nutrition school and the Florida Health and Nutrition Coalition. The state must weigh cost and outcomes when paying the managed care organization.

The whole program automatically expires August 31, 2030, and the underlying law repeals itself a year later. The state must report to legislative leaders once, after the pilot ends, on how often it was used.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Creates a Medicaid pilot for co-occurring mental and physical illness majors. 409.9206

AIContingent on a legislative appropriation, the state Medicaid plan may fund a pilot letting managed care providers offer a five-part counseling, nutrition, and monitoring bundle to Medicaid recipients who have both a mental health diagnosis and diabetes, obesity, or heart disease.

“the state Medicaid plan may fund a demonstration pilot program to provide de-risking disease behavioral health intervention services” bill text, line 70 →
§ 2 Substitutes standard Medicaid services with the pilot bundle majors. 409.9206

AIProviders deliver the pilot's counseling, nutrition, and monitoring services in place of the treatments a recipient would otherwise get through the state Medicaid plan, rather than adding the bundle on top of standard coverage.

“in lieu of services specified in the state Medicaid plan” bill text, line 79 →
§ 3 Limits the pilot to five counties and 1,000 patients moderates. 409.9206

AIThe pilot operates only in Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties, and is capped at 1,000 participants as a disease management plan, regardless of how many eligible recipients exist statewide.

“As a disease management plan to 1,000 participants in Region G.” bill text, line 83 →
§ 4 Ties managed care payment to cost and outcomes moderates. 409.9206

AIWhen paying capitation rates to the managed care organization running the pilot, the state Medicaid plan must weigh actual cost, measurable goals and health outcomes met, and how well participants stuck with the program.

“the actual cost, measurable goals and health outcomes met, and participant adherence to the de-risking disease behavioral health intervention services” bill text, line 118 →
§ 5 Hands pilot design and evaluation to a named university and nonprofit moderates. 409.9206

AIRather than letting a state agency or state university set the pilot's design and success measures, the law requires that they come from researchers at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, alongside the Florida Health and Nutrition Coalition.

“must be developed from a research evaluation conducted by nutrition scientists at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy” bill text, line 86 →
§ 6 Sets the pilot and the law itself to expire moderates. 409.9206

AIThe pilot program itself ends August 31, 2030, and the entire new statute section is repealed a year later, on September 1, 2031, unless the Legislature acts again before then.

“The pilot program shall expire August 31, 2030.” bill text, line 124 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Health Policy
1/22/2026
Introduced
1/16/2026
Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations Committee on Health and...
1/8/2026
Filed
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 409.9206
+744 / −0