House Bill 1575e1

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                                       CS/HB 1575, First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to nursing homes; amending s.

  3         400.021, F.S.; defining "controlling person";

  4         amending s. 400.071, F.S.; providing additional

  5         license application requirements relating to

  6         certain financial or ownership interests of the

  7         applicant and specified others, including a

  8         controlling person; providing use of such

  9         information; amending s. 400.121, F.S.;

10         authorizing denial of a license application

11         based on disclosure of information

12         demonstrating financial or care-related

13         instability; amending s. 400.141, F.S.;

14         requiring the disclosure of certain

15         information; amending s. 397.405, F.S.;

16         correcting a cross reference; providing an

17         effective date.

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19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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21         Section 1.  Subsections (5) through (17) of section

22  400.021, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (6)

23  through (18), respectively, and a new subsection (5) is added

24  to said section to read:

25         400.021  Definitions.--When used in this part, unless

26  the context otherwise requires, the term:

27         (5)  "Controlling person" for purposes of this part,

28  means:

29         (a)  The licensee applicant and any management company

30  or other entity, related or unrelated, that the applicant may

31  contract with to operate the institution.


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                                       CS/HB 1575, First Engrossed



  1         (b)  Any person who serves as an officer, is on the

  2  board of directors, or has a 5% or more ownership interest in

  3  the applicant.  Controlling person does not mean a director of

  4  a not-for-profit corporation or organization if the director

  5  serves solely in a voluntary capacity for the corporation or

  6  organization, does not regularly take part in the day-to-day

  7  operational decisions of the corporation or organization,

  8  receives no remuneration for his or her services on the

  9  corporation's or organization's board of directors, and has no

10  financial interest in the corporation or organization.  The

11  application must include a statement from the director and the

12  not-for-profit corporation or organization affirming that the

13  director's relationship to the corporation or organization

14  satisfies the requirements of this paragraph.

15         (c) Any person who serves as an officer, is on the

16  board of directors, or has a 5% or more ownership interest in

17  the management company or other entity that the applicant may

18  contract with to operate the institution.

19         Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 400.071, Florida

20  Statutes, is amended to read:

21         400.071  Application for license.--

22         (2)  The application shall be under oath and shall

23  contain the following:

24         (a)  The name, address, and social security number of

25  the applicant if an individual; if the applicant is a firm,

26  partnership, or association, its name, address, and employer

27  identification number (EIN), and the name and address of every

28  member; if the applicant is a corporation, its name, address,

29  and employer identification number (EIN), and the name and

30  address of its director and officers and of each person having

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                                       CS/HB 1575, First Engrossed



  1  at least a 5 percent interest in the corporation; and the name

  2  by which the facility is to be known.

  3         (b)  The name of any person whose name is required on

  4  the application under the provisions of paragraph (a) and who

  5  owns at least a 10 percent interest in any professional

  6  service, firm, association, partnership, or corporation

  7  providing goods, leases, or services to the facility for which

  8  the application is made, and the name and address of the

  9  professional service, firm, association, partnership, or

10  corporation in which such interest is held.

11         (c)  The location of the facility for which a license

12  is sought and an indication, as in the original application,

13  that such location conforms to the local zoning ordinances.

14         (d)  The name of the person or persons under whose

15  management or supervision the facility will be conducted,

16  including any controlling person, and the name of its licensed

17  administrator.

18         (e)  A signed affidavit disclosing any financial or

19  ownership interest that the applicant, or any person listed in

20  paragraph (d), has held within the last 5 years in any entity

21  licensed by this state or any other state to provide health or

22  residential care, which entity has closed voluntarily or

23  involuntarily and the reason for the closure; has filed

24  bankruptcy; has had a receiver appointed or a license denied,

25  suspended, or revoked; or has had an injunction issued against

26  it which was initiated by a regulatory agency.

27         (f)(e)  The total number of beds and the total number

28  of Medicare and Medicaid certified beds.

29         (g)(f)  Information relating to the number, experience,

30  and training of the employees of the facility and of the moral

31  character of the applicant and employees which the agency


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                                       CS/HB 1575, First Engrossed



  1  requires by rule, including the name and address of any

  2  nursing home with which the applicant or employees have been

  3  affiliated through ownership or employment within 5 years of

  4  the date of the application for a license and the record of

  5  any criminal convictions involving the applicant and any

  6  criminal convictions involving an employee if known by the

  7  applicant after inquiring of the employee.  The applicant must

  8  demonstrate that sufficient numbers of qualified staff, by

  9  training or experience, will be employed to properly care for

10  the type and number of residents who will reside in the

11  facility.

12         (h)(g)  Copies of any civil verdict or judgment

13  involving the applicant rendered within the 10 years preceding

14  the application, relating to medical negligence, violation of

15  residents' rights, or wrongful death.  As a condition of

16  licensure, the licensee agrees to provide to the agency copies

17  of any new verdict or judgment involving the applicant,

18  relating to such matters, within 30 days after filing with the

19  clerk of the court.  The information required in this

20  paragraph shall be maintained in the facility's licensure file

21  and in an agency database which is available as a public

22  record.

23         Section 3.  Subsection (7) is added to section 400.121,

24  Florida Statutes, to read:

25         400.121  Denial, suspension, revocation of license;

26  moratorium on admissions; administrative fines; procedure;

27  order to increase staffing.--

28         (7)  The Agency may deny an application for an initial

29  or change-of-ownership license based upon the disclosure of

30  information as required in section 400.071(2)(e) if such

31  information demonstrates financial or care-related instability


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                                       CS/HB 1575, First Engrossed



  1  of the applicant or any controlling person except as provided

  2  in this subsection.  If such information demonstrates

  3  financial or care-related instability of the management

  4  company only, that would result in an initial or change of

  5  ownership license denial, then the applicant shall be given 30

  6  days to remedy the instability or the application will be

  7  denied.  If such information demonstrates financial

  8  instability of the management company only, in conjunction

  9  with either an initial or change-of-ownership application, and

10  the management contract does not require the management

11  company to provide working capital or other financial support

12  to the applicant, then the information may not be used to deny

13  the licensure of the applicant, but may be used as a basis for

14  additional monitoring by the agency of the licensed facility

15  as specified in s. 400.118, F.S.  If such information

16  demonstrates financial or care-related instability of the

17  applicant or any controlling person, in conjunction with an

18  application for license renewal, then such information may be

19  used as a basis for additional monitoring by the agency of the

20  licensed facility as specified in s. 400.118, F.S.

21         Section 4.  Subsection (2) of section 397.405, Florida

22  Statutes, is amended to read:

23         397.405  Exemptions from licensure.--The following are

24  exempt from the licensing provisions of this chapter:

25         (2)  A nursing home facility as defined in s.

26  400.021(11).

27         Section 5.  Subsection (14) is added to section

28  400.141, Florida Statutes, to read:

29         400.141  Administration and management of nursing home

30  facilities.--Every licensed facility shall comply with all

31  applicable standards and rules of the agency and shall:


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                                       CS/HB 1575, First Engrossed



  1         (14)  Provide to the agency information specified in

  2  section 400.071(e) for a management company within thirty days

  3  of the start of the management agreement.

  4         Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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