Senate Bill sb1326

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 1326

    By Senator Saunders





    25-912-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to long-term care; amending s.

  3         400.062, F.S.; increasing the basic license fee

  4         for nursing home facilities; amending s.

  5         400.118, F.S.; requiring quality-of-care

  6         monitors to conduct periodic visits to each

  7         nursing home facility; providing an effective

  8         date.

  9  

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

11  

12         Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 400.062, Florida

13  Statutes, is amended to read:

14         400.062  License required; fee; disposition; display;

15  transfer.--

16         (3)  The annual license fee required for each license

17  issued under this part shall be comprised of two parts.  Part

18  I of the license fee shall be the basic license fee.  The rate

19  per bed for the basic license fee shall be established

20  annually and must be reasonably calculated to cover the cost

21  of regulation under this part, but may not exceed $50 $35 per

22  bed.  Part II of the license fee shall be the resident

23  protection fee, which shall be at the rate of not less than 25

24  cents per bed.  The rate per bed shall be the minimum rate per

25  bed, and such rate shall remain in effect until the effective

26  date of a rate per bed adopted by rule by the agency pursuant

27  to this part.  At such time as the amount on deposit in the

28  Resident Protection Trust Fund is less than $500,000, the

29  agency may adopt rules to establish a rate which may not

30  exceed $10 per bed.  The rate per bed shall revert back to the

31  minimum rate per bed when the amount on deposit in the

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 1326
    25-912-01




  1  Resident Protection Trust Fund reaches $500,000, except that

  2  any rate established by rule shall remain in effect until such

  3  time as the rate has been equally required for each license

  4  issued under this part.  Any amount in the fund in excess of

  5  $800,000 shall revert to the Health Care Trust Fund and may

  6  not be expended without prior approval of the Legislature.

  7  The agency may prorate the annual license fee for those

  8  licenses which it issues under this part for less than 1 year.

  9  Funds generated by license fees collected in accordance with

10  this section shall be deposited in the following manner:

11         (a)  The basic license fee collected shall be deposited

12  in the Health Care Trust Fund, established for the sole

13  purpose of carrying out this part.  When the balance of the

14  account established in the Health Care Trust Fund for the

15  deposit of fees collected as authorized under this section

16  exceeds one-third of the annual cost of regulation under this

17  part, the excess shall be used to reduce the licensure fees in

18  the next year.

19         (b)  The resident protection fee collected shall be

20  deposited in the Resident Protection Trust Fund for the sole

21  purpose of paying, in accordance with the provisions of s.

22  400.063, for the appropriate alternate placement, care, and

23  treatment of a resident removed from a nursing home facility

24  on a temporary, emergency basis or for the maintenance and

25  care of residents in a nursing home facility pending removal

26  and alternate placement.

27         Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section

28  400.118, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

29         400.118  Quality assurance; early warning system;

30  monitoring; rapid response teams.--

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 1326
    25-912-01




  1         (2)(a)  The agency shall establish within each district

  2  office one or more quality-of-care monitors, based on the

  3  number of nursing facilities in the district, to monitor all

  4  nursing facilities in the district on a regular, unannounced,

  5  aperiodic basis, including nights, evenings, weekends, and

  6  holidays. Quality-of-care monitors shall visit each nursing

  7  facility at least quarterly. Priority for additional

  8  monitoring visits shall be given to nursing facilities with a

  9  history of patient care deficiencies. Quality-of-care monitors

10  shall be registered nurses who are trained and experienced in

11  nursing facility regulation, standards of practice in

12  long-term care, and evaluation of patient care. Individuals in

13  these positions shall not be deployed by the agency as a part

14  of the district survey team in the conduct of routine,

15  scheduled surveys, but shall function solely and independently

16  as quality-of-care monitors. Quality-of-care monitors shall

17  assess the overall quality of life in the nursing facility and

18  shall assess specific conditions in the facility directly

19  related to patient care. The quality-of-care monitor shall

20  include in an assessment visit observation of the care and

21  services rendered to residents and formal and informal

22  interviews with residents, family members, facility staff,

23  resident guests, volunteers, other regulatory staff, and

24  representatives of a long-term care ombudsman council or

25  Florida advocacy council.

26         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

27  

28            *****************************************

29                          SENATE SUMMARY

30    Increases, from $35 to $50 per bed, the annual license
      fee that the Agency for Health Care Administration may
31    charge nursing homes. Requires that quality-of-care
      monitors visit a nursing home at least quarterly.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.