| 1 | The Elder & Long-Term Care Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to hospices; amending s. 400.602, F.S.; |
| 7 | providing requirements for licensure for certain for- |
| 8 | profit hospices; providing limitations on the location of |
| 9 | for-profit hospices; requiring a report by the Agency for |
| 10 | Health Care Administration; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Subsection (7) is added to section 400.602, |
| 15 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 16 | 400.602 Licensure required; prohibited acts; exemptions; |
| 17 | display, transferability of license.-- |
| 18 | (7) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 400.601(3), any |
| 19 | hospice that is organized as a for-profit corporation and |
| 20 | provides a continuum of palliative and supportive care for the |
| 21 | terminally ill patient and his or her family may obtain a |
| 22 | license in accordance with the other requirements of this part |
| 23 | and upon receipt of any certificate of need that may be required |
| 24 | under the provisions of ss. 408.031?408.045 to provide care in: |
| 25 | (a) A hospice service area with a population of 550,000 or |
| 26 | more, except that a for-profit hospice may not be located in any |
| 27 | county in the service area that has a population of 50,000 or |
| 28 | less; or |
| 29 | (b) A hospice service area where a for-profit hospice is |
| 30 | currently licensed to operate under subsection (6). |
| 31 |
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| 32 | The Agency for Health Care Administration shall utilize hospice |
| 33 | service areas as published on January 1, 2005. No later than |
| 34 | January 1, 2007, the agency shall submit a report to the |
| 35 | President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of |
| 36 | Representatives analyzing the impact of for-profit hospices on |
| 37 | the delivery of care to terminally ill patients, including a |
| 38 | review of the quality of care, the change in the competitive |
| 39 | marketplace, and any other relevant information. |
| 40 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |