HB 1417

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to hospices; amending s. 400.601, F.S.;
3	revising the definition of the term "hospice"; amending s.
4	400.602, F.S.; requiring that a hospice state the year of
5	initial licensure in the state; prescribing the manner and
6	placement of such notification; providing an exception;
7	deleting provisions authorizing the transfer of certain
8	hospices and the acquisition of additional licenses;
9	amending s. 400.606, F.S.; providing that the Agency for
10	Health Care Administration may not deny a license to
11	applicants that fail to meet certain conditions when good
12	cause for such failure can be demonstrated; amending s.
13	400.6105, F.S.; requiring a hospice to use trained
14	volunteers and to document and report certain volunteer
15	information; requiring the Office of Program Policy
16	Analysis and Government Accountability to submit a report
17	to the Legislature; providing legislative intent;
18	requiring the Department of Elderly Affairs, in
19	conjunction with the agency, to develop certain outcome
20	measures; providing for adoption of national initiatives;
21	requiring an annual report; providing for severability;
22	providing an effective date.
23
24	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26	Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 400.601, Florida
27	Statutes, is amended to read:
28	400.601  Definitions.--As used in this part, the term:
29	(3)  "Hospice" means a centrally administered corporation
30	not for profit, as defined in chapter 617, providing a continuum
31	of palliative and supportive care for the terminally ill patient
32	and his or her family.
33	Section 2.  Section 400.602, Florida Statutes, is amended
34	to read:
35	400.602  Licensure required; prohibited acts; exemptions;
36	display, transferability of license.--
37	(1)(a)  It is unlawful to operate or maintain a hospice
38	without first obtaining a license from the agency.
39	(b)  It is unlawful for any person or legal entity not
40	licensed as a hospice under this part to use the word "hospice"
41	in its name, or to offer or advertise hospice services or
42	hospice-like services in such a way as to mislead a person to
43	believe that the offeror is a hospice licensed under this part.
44	(c)  It is unlawful for any person or legal entity
45	offering, describing, or advertising hospice services or
46	hospice-like services or otherwise holding itself out as a
47	hospice to do so without stating the year of initial licensure
48	as a hospice in the state or the year of initial licensure of
49	the hospice entity or affiliate based in the state that owns the
50	hospice. At a minimum, the year of initial licensure must be
51	stated directly beneath the name of the licensed entity in a
52	type no less than 25 percent of the size of the type used for
53	the name or other indication of hospice services or hospice-like
54	services and must be prominently stated at least one time on any
55	document, item, or other medium offering, describing, or
56	advertising hospice services or hospice-like services. This
57	requirement excludes any materials relating to the care and
58	treatment of an existing hospice patient.
59	(2)  Services provided by a hospital, nursing home, or
60	other health care facility, health care provider, or caregiver,
61	or under the Community Care for the Elderly Act, do not
62	constitute a hospice unless the facility, provider, or caregiver
63	establishes a separate and distinct administrative program to
64	provide home, residential, and homelike inpatient hospice
65	services.
66	(3)(a)  A separately licensed hospice may not use a name
67	which is substantially the same as the name of another hospice
68	licensed under this part.
69	(b)  A licensed hospice which intends to change its name or
70	address must notify the agency at least 60 days before making
71	the change.
72	(4)  The license shall be displayed in a conspicuous place
73	inside the hospice program office; shall be valid only in the
74	possession of the person or public agency to which it is issued;
75	shall not be subject to sale, assignment, or other transfer,
76	voluntary or involuntary; and shall not be valid for any hospice
77	other than the hospice for which originally issued.
78	(5)  Notwithstanding s. 400.601(3), any hospice operating
79	in corporate form exclusively as a hospice, incorporated on or
80	before July 1, 1978, may be transferred to a for-profit or not-
81	for-profit entity, and may transfer the license to that entity.
82	(6)  Notwithstanding s. 400.601(3), at any time after July
83	1, 1995, any entity entitled to licensure under subsection (5)
84	may obtain a license for up to two additional hospices in
85	accordance with the other requirements of this part and upon
86	receipt of any certificate of need that may be required under
87	the provisions of ss. 408.031-408.045.
88	Section 3.  Subsection (7) is added to section 400.606,
89	Florida Statutes, to read:
90	400.606  License; application; renewal; conditional license
91	or permit; certificate of need.--
92	(7)  The agency may deny a license to an applicant that
93	fails to meet any condition for the provision of hospice care or
94	services imposed by the agency on a certificate of need by final
95	agency action, unless the applicant can demonstrate that good
96	cause exists for the applicant's failure to meet such condition.
97	Section 4.  Subsection (4) of section 400.6105, Florida
98	Statutes, is amended to read:
99	400.6105  Staffing and personnel.--
100	(4)  A hospice must maintain a trained volunteer staff for
101	the purpose of providing both administrative support and direct
102	patient care. A hospice must use trained volunteers who work in
103	defined roles and under the supervision of a designated hospice
104	employee for an amount of time that equals at least 5 percent of
105	the total patient care or administrative hours provided by all
106	paid hospice employees and contract staff in the aggregate. The
107	hospice shall document and report the use of volunteers,
108	including maintaining a record of the number of volunteers, the
109	number of hours worked by each volunteer, and the tasks
110	performed by each volunteer.
111	Section 5.  No later than January 1, 2010, the Office of
112	Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability shall
113	submit to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
114	House of Representatives a report analyzing the impact of for-
115	profit hospices on the delivery of care to terminally ill
116	patients and include in the report a review of the quality of
117	care offered by for-profit hospices, changes in the competitive
118	marketplace in hospice service areas, and any other information
119	deemed pertinent.
120	Section 6.  To protect the citizens of the state, it is the
121	intent of the Legislature that no change in law be made to the
122	hospice licensure and certificate-of-need provisions until the
123	year 2012 to correctly analyze and evaluate the impact of this
124	act on the quality of hospice care in the state.
125	Section 7.  (1)  No later than December 31, 2007, the
126	Department of Elderly Affairs, in conjunction with the Agency
127	for Health Care Administration, shall develop outcome measures
128	to determine the quality and effectiveness of hospice care for
129	hospices licensed in the state. At a minimum, these outcome
130	measures shall include a requirement that 50 percent of patients
131	who report severe pain on a 0-to-10 scale must report a
132	reduction to 5 or less by the end of the 4th day of care on the
133	hospice program.
134	(2)  For hospices licensed in the state, the Department of
135	Elderly Affairs, in conjunction with the Agency for Health Care
136	Administration, shall:
137	(a)  Consider and adopt national initiatives, such as those
138	developed by the National Hospice and Palliative Care
139	Organization, to set benchmarks for measuring the quality of
140	hospice care provided in the state.
141	(b)  Develop an annual report that analyzes and evaluates
142	the information collected under this act and any other data
143	collection or reporting provisions of law.
144	Section 8.  If any provision of this act or its application
145	to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity
146	does not affect other provisions or applications of this act
147	which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
148	application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
149	severable.
150	Section 9.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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