PHYSICIANS HEALTH CARE PLANS, INC., APPELLANT/PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, AGENCY FOR HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION, APPELLEE/RESPONDENT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Physicians Health Care Plans challenged the Agency for Health Care Administration's denial of a petition to initiate rulemaking regarding managed care plan reimbursement methodology. The court dismissed the appeal as moot because the agency had initiated the required rulemaking proceeding shortly before oral argument, granting appellant all presently available relief.
The court agreed that section 409.9124 expressly requires the agency to develop and adopt by rule a methodology for reimbursing managed care plans. However, because the agency's belated initiation of rulemaking grants appellant all presently available relief and allows appellant's proposed rule to be considered in the rulemaking proceeding, the appeal is dismissed as moot.
[1] A statute requiring an agency to develop and adopt a rule by a certain methodology mandates the agency's adherence to that process.
[2] An agency's belated initiation of a rulemaking proceeding, undertaken after an appeal has been filed challenging the agency's delay, may render the appeal moot.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We agree with appellant that section 409.9124 expressly requires the agency to "develop and adopt by rule a methodology for reimbursing managed care plans."”
Establishes that the statutory requirement was clear and unambiguous, vindicating appellant's legal position.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSection 409.9124, Florida Statutes required the Agency for Health Care Administration to develop and adopt by rule a methodology for reimbursing manag…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Rulemaking Proceedings cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal from a final administrative order denying a petition to initiate rule-making. The appellant, Physicians Health Care Plans, Inc., contends that section 409.9124, Florida Statutes (Supp.1996) requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to adopt a rule defining the methodology for reimbursement of managed care plans.1 This argument was rejected by the agency but on January 2, 1998, approximately one week before the oral argument in this appeal, the agency initiated a proceeding under section 120.54(2), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1996), to develope a proposed rule on the same subject. Then on January 5, 1998, the agency sought to dismiss the appeal on the ground that it had been rendered moot by the pending rulemaking proceeding.
We agree with appellant that section 409.9124 expressly requires the agency to “develop and adopt by rule a methodology for reimbursing managed care plans.” The agency candidly acknowledges that it is not a coincidence that the proposed rule development was initiated shortly prior to the date of oral argument. Further, we understand appellant’s complaint with the agency’s delay in initiating the rulemaking required by section 409.9124. According to section 120.54(l)(b), Florida Statutes (Supp.1996),2 the agency was required to draft and formally propose a rule within 180 days' of. the effective date of section 409.9124, or by December 30,1996.3 Nevertheless, because the appellant’s proposed rule, filed as a part of its petition below, can be considered by the agency in the newly instituted rule development proceeding, the agency’s belated initiation of rulemaking grants the appellant all relief that would be presently available here.
Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed as moot. The dismissal is without prejudice to the appellant’s right to seek reinstatement of this appeal should the agency abandon the present rulemaking proceeding.
BOOTH, VAN NORTWICK and PADOVANO, JJ., concur. . Section 409.9124(1), Florida Statutes (1996), provides:
(1) The agency shall develop and adopt by rule a methodology for reimbursing managed care plans.
. Section 120.54(l)(b), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1996), provides as follows:
Whenever an act of the Legislature is enacted which requires implementation of the act by rules of an agency within the executive branch of state government, such rule shall be drafted and formally proposed as provided in this section within 180 days after the effective date of the act, unless the act provides otherwise.
.Section 409.9124, Florida Statutes (Supp. 1996), was enacted by section 9 of chapter 96-199, Laws of Florida. Chapter 96-199 was effec tive on July 1, 1996. Ch. 96-199, Laws of Florida, § 45.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Osceola Fish Farmers Ass'n, Inc. v. Div. OF Admin. Hearings & S. Fla. Water Mgmt. Dist., 830 So. 2d 932 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)…’s fees and costs) if, prior to entry of a final order in the case, the agency initiates the rule-making process and proceeds expeditiously to rule adoption. Cf., Physicians Health Care Plans, Inc. v. State of Florida, Agency for Health Care Admin., 706 So. 2d 113, 114 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)(holding that an appeal of an order denying a petition to initiate rulemaking was rendered moot when the agency initiated rulemaking during the course of the appeal). Because the ALJ found in this 120.56(4) proceeding that t…