| 1 | The Health & Families Council 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 Office of |
| 10 | Program Policy and Government Accountability that analyzes |
| 11 | the impact of hospices on the delivery of care to |
| 12 | terminally ill patients; providing an effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Subsection (7) is added to section 400.602, |
| 17 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 18 | 400.602 Licensure required; prohibited acts; exemptions; |
| 19 | display, transferability of license.-- |
| 20 | (7) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 400.601(3), any |
| 21 | hospice that is organized as a for-profit corporation and |
| 22 | provides a continuum of palliative and supportive care for the |
| 23 | terminally ill patient and his or her family may obtain a |
| 24 | license in accordance with the other requirements of this part |
| 25 | and upon receipt of any certificate of need that may be required |
| 26 | under the provisions of ss. 408.031?408.045 to provide care in a |
| 27 | hospice service area where a for-profit hospice is currently |
| 28 | licensed to operate under subsections (5) and (6). |
| 29 | Section 2. No later than January 1, 2006, the Office of |
| 30 | Program Policy and Government Accountability, in consultation |
| 31 | with the Agency for Health Care Administration, shall submit a |
| 32 | report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the |
| 33 | House of Representatives that analyzes the impact of hospices on |
| 34 | the delivery of care to terminally ill patients. The report |
| 35 | shall include: |
| 36 | (1) A comprehensive statistical analysis of Florida |
| 37 | hospice care from January 1, 1999, to June 30, 2005. |
| 38 | (2) A comprehensive analysis of the scope of services |
| 39 | provided by Florida hospices and a comparison of those services |
| 40 | to the minimum service requirements of Medicare and Medicaid. |
| 41 | (3) An analysis of hospice service areas and penetration |
| 42 | rates of hospice services by hospice service area, including a |
| 43 | discussion of reasons for the existence of regional monopolies. |
| 44 | (4) An analysis of the services provided to and quality of |
| 45 | care experienced by patients of for-profit hospices in Florida |
| 46 | and other states. |
| 47 | (5) An analysis of potential changes in the competitive |
| 48 | marketplace in Florida which may be produced by the introduction |
| 49 | of additional for-profit hospices. |
| 50 | (6) An analysis of the effect that the presence of for- |
| 51 | profit hospices has had on hospice service delivery and quality |
| 52 | in other states. |
| 53 | (7) The projected cost of introduction of additional for- |
| 54 | profit hospices in Florida to the Medicaid program. |
| 55 | (8) Any other relevant information. |
| 56 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |