HB 0209 2004
   
1 A bill to be entitled
2          An act relating to health care; amending s. 400.506, F.S.;
3    deleting the requirement that a registered nurse referred
4    by a nurse registry make monthly visits to a patient;
5    amending ss. 413.402 and 413.4021, F.S., and s. 3 of
6    chapter 2002-286, Laws of Florida; making the program for
7    personal care attendants for spinal cord injury victims
8    permanent; providing powers and duties of the Department
9    of Health with respect to the program; providing criteria
10    for participation in the program; providing for an
11    oversight workgroup; deleting obsolete provisions;
12    providing an effective date.
13         
14          Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15         
16          Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (10) of section
17    400.506, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
18          400.506 Licensure of nurse registries; requirements;
19    penalties.--
20          (10)
21          (c) A registered nurse shall make monthly visits to the
22    patient's home to assess the patient's condition and quality of
23    care being provided by the certified nursing assistant or home
24    health aide. Any condition which in the professional judgment of
25    the nurse requires further medical attention shall be reported
26    to the attending physician and the nurse registry. The
27    assessment shall become a part of the patient's file with the
28    nurse registry and may be reviewed by the agency during their
29    survey procedure.
30          Section 2. Section 413.402, Florida Statutes, is amended
31    to read:
32          413.402 Personal care attendant pilotprogram.--The
33    Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living, in
34    conjunction with the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program in the
35    Department of Health, shall develop a pilotprogram to provide
36    personal care attendants to persons who are eligible pursuant to
37    subsection (1). The association and the Department of Health
38    shall jointlydevelop memoranda of understanding with the
39    Department of Revenue, the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program
40    in the Department of Health,the Florida Medicaid program in the
41    Agency for Health Care Administration, the Florida Endowment
42    Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Division of
43    Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education.
44          (1) Persons eligible to participate in the pilotprogram
45    must:
46          (a) Be at least 18 years of age and be significantly
47    disabled due to a traumatic spinal cord injury;
48          (b) Require a personal care attendant for bathing,
49    dressing, bowel and bladder management, and transportation; Have
50    been determined eligible for training services from the Division
51    of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education; and
52          (c) Require a personal care attendant to obtain or
53    maintain substantial gainful employment;
54          (d) Be able to hire and supervise a personal care
55    attendant; and
56          (e)(c)Either:
57          1. Live in a nursing home; or
58          2. Have moved out of a nursing home within the preceding
59    180 days due to participation in a Medicaid home and community-
60    based waiver program targeted to persons with brain or spinal
61    cord injuries; or
62          3. Presently be employed but because of a loss of a
63    caregiver be in danger of losing employment and potentially
64    returning to a nursing home.
65          (2) The association shall develop a training program for
66    training persons selected to participate in the pilotprogram
67    that will prepare each person to manage his or her own personal
68    care attendant.
69          (3)(a) The association and the Department of Health, in
70    cooperation with the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational
71    Rehabilitation, shall develop a program to recruit, screen, and
72    select candidates to be trained as personal care attendants.
73          (b) The services of a nurse registry licensed pursuant to
74    s. 400.506 may be utilized to recruit and screen candidates and
75    to operate as a fiscal intermediary through which payments are
76    made to individuals performing services as personal care
77    attendants under the pilot program. The Department of Health and
78    theAgency for Health Care Administration shall seek any federal
79    waivers necessary to implement this provision.
80          (4) The association and the Department of Health, in
81    cooperation with the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational
82    Rehabilitation, shall develop a training program for personal
83    care attendants.
84          (5) The association and the Department of Health, in
85    cooperation with the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational
86    Rehabilitation, shall establish procedures for selecting persons
87    eligible under subsection (1) to participate in the pilot
88    program.
89          (6) The association and the Department of Health, in
90    cooperation with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of
91    the Department of Education, shall assess the selected
92    participants and make recommendations for their placement into
93    appropriate work-related training programs.
94          (7) The association and the Department of Health, in
95    cooperation with the Department of Revenue, the Brain and Spinal
96    Cord Injury Program in the Department of Health,the Florida
97    Medicaid program in the Agency for Health Care Administration, a
98    representative from the state attorney's office in each of the
99    judicial circuits counties participating in the pilotprogram,
100    the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation,
101    and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department
102    of Education, shall develop a plan for implementation of the
103    pilotprogram.
104          (8) The Department of Health shall establish a personal
105    care attendant program oversight workgroup to oversee the
106    implementation and administration of the program. The workgroup
107    shall be composed of one representative from the Brain and
108    Spinal Cord Injury Program in the Department of Health, one
109    representative from the Department of Revenue, one
110    representative from the Florida Medicaid Program in the Agency
111    for Health Care Administration, one representative from the
112    Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, one
113    representative from the Florida Association of Centers for
114    Independent Living, one representative from the Division of
115    Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education, and
116    two members who are persons with traumatic spinal cord injuries
117    or are family members of persons with traumatic spinal cord
118    injuries. No later than March 1, 2003, the association shall
119    present to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the
120    House of Representatives the implementation plan for the pilot
121    program, a timeline for implementation, estimates of the number
122    of participants to be served, and cost projections for each
123    component of the pilot program. The pilot program shall be
124    implemented beginning July 1, 2003, unless there is specific
125    legislative action to the contrary.
126          Section 3. Section 413.4021, Florida Statutes, is amended
127    to read:
128          413.4021 Pilot Program participant countyselection; tax
129    collection enforcement diversion program.--The Department of
130    Revenue, in coordination with the Florida Association of Centers
131    for Independent Living and the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys
132    Association, shall select judicial circuits four countiesin
133    which to operate the pilotprogram. The association and the
134    state attorneys' offices in Duval County and the four pilot
135    program countiesshall develop and implement a tax collection
136    enforcement diversion program, which shall collect revenue due
137    from persons who have not remitted their collected sales tax.
138    The criteria for referral to the tax collection enforcement
139    diversion program shall be determined cooperatively between the
140    state attorneys' offices in those countiesand the Department of
141    Revenue.
142          (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 212.20, 50 25
143    percent of the revenues collected from the tax collection
144    enforcement diversion program shall be deposited into the
145    operating account of the Florida Endowment Foundation for
146    Vocational Rehabilitation, to be used to implement the personal
147    care attendant pilotprogram.
148          (2) The pilotprogram shall operate only from funds
149    deposited into the operating account of the Florida Endowment
150    Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation.
151          (3) The Revenue Estimating Conference shall annually
152    project the amount of funds expected to be generated from the
153    tax collection enforcement diversion program.
154          (4) For the 2003-2004 fiscal year only and notwithstanding
155    the provisions of subsection (1), 50 percent of the revenues
156    collected from the tax collection enforcement diversion program
157    shall be deposited into the operating account of the Florida
158    Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, to be used
159    to implement the personal care attendant pilot program and to
160    contract with the state attorneys participating in the tax
161    collection enforcement diversion program in an amount of not
162    more than $50,000 for each state attorney. This subsection
163    expires July 1, 2004.
164          Section 4. Section 3 of chapter 2002-286, Laws of Florida,
165    is amended to read:
166          Section 3. There is appropriated from the Brain and Spinal
167    Cord Injury Program Trust Fund to the Florida Endowment
168    Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation the sum of $250,000 in
169    nonrecurring funds for fiscal year 2002-2003 for development of
170    the personal care attendant pilotprogram under s. 413.402,
171    Florida Statutes. The initial $50,000 from each of the pilot
172    program judicial circuits counties and the Fourth Judicial
173    Circuit Duval Countydeposited with the Florida Endowment
174    Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation shall be used to repay
175    the $250,000 to the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program Trust
176    Fund.
177          Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.