TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--State legislators have proposed a gradual approach to implement portions of Gov. Jeb Bush's Medicaid reform plan. Under legislation introduced last week, HMOs and other managed-care networks would take over care for Medicaid patients in several counties in Northeast and Southeast Florida beginning in 2006. The plan would not be implemented statewide until 2007. The bill also proposes incentives, such as low-interest loans, to draw private companies into the new system.

In January, the governor proposed a complete overhaul of the state's Medicaid program--which currently makes up about a quarter of the state's $61 billion budget--to make expenditures more predictable and manageable. Among other specifics, the proposal would give recipients an allotted amount of money to purchase their own health care coverage from managed-care organizations and other private networks.