Florida Senate - 2025                                    SB 1412
       
       
        
       By Senator Calatayud
       
       
       
       
       
       38-01268-25                                           20251412__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to home health care services; amending
    3         s. 400.476, F.S.; deleting geographical limitations on
    4         the home health agencies that an administrator may
    5         manage at any given time; amending s. 400.487, F.S.;
    6         deleting a requirement that, under certain
    7         circumstances, a home health agency provide the
    8         initial admission visit, service evaluation visits,
    9         and the discharge visit to admitted patients by a
   10         direct employee; amending s. 400.52, F.S.; revising
   11         the eligibility criteria for awards under the
   12         Excellence in Home Health Program; providing an
   13         effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   18  400.476, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   19         400.476 Staffing requirements; notifications; limitations
   20  on staffing services.—
   21         (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—
   22         (a) An administrator may manage only one home health
   23  agency, except that an administrator may manage up to five home
   24  health agencies if all five home health agencies have identical
   25  controlling interests as defined in s. 408.803 and are located
   26  within one agency geographic service area or within an
   27  immediately contiguous county. If the home health agency is
   28  licensed under this chapter and is part of a retirement
   29  community that provides multiple levels of care, an employee of
   30  the retirement community may administer the home health agency
   31  and up to a maximum of four entities licensed under this chapter
   32  or chapter 429 which all have identical controlling interests as
   33  defined in s. 408.803. An administrator shall designate, in
   34  writing, for each licensed entity, a qualified alternate
   35  administrator to serve during the administrator’s absence.
   36         Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 400.487, Florida
   37  Statutes, is amended to read:
   38         400.487 Home health service agreements; physician’s,
   39  physician assistant’s, and advanced practice registered nurse’s
   40  treatment orders; patient assessment; establishment and review
   41  of plan of care; provision of services; orders not to
   42  resuscitate.—
   43         (5) When nursing services are ordered, the home health
   44  agency to which a patient has been admitted for care must
   45  provide the initial admission visit, all service evaluation
   46  visits, and the discharge visit by a direct employee. Nursing
   47  services provided by direct employees of and individuals others
   48  under contractual arrangements to a home health agency must be
   49  monitored and managed by the admitting home health agency. The
   50  admitting home health agency is fully responsible for ensuring
   51  that all care provided through its employees or contract staff
   52  is delivered in accordance with this part and applicable rules.
   53         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
   54  400.52, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   55         400.52 Excellence in Home Health Program.—
   56         (2)(a) The agency shall adopt rules establishing criteria
   57  for the program which must include, at a minimum, standards that
   58  are adaptable to all types of home health agencies, regardless
   59  of the payor type, patient population, or service designation.
   60  The criteria must also include, at a minimum, meeting standards
   61  relating to:
   62         1. Patient or client satisfaction, including communication
   63  and willingness to recommend the home health agency.
   64         2. Service excellence.
   65         a. For skilled providers, service excellence includes
   66  outcomes related to clinical improvements, such as reducing
   67  adverse events, unplanned emergency care, and hospitalizations.
   68         b. For nonskilled providers, service excellence includes
   69  contributions to daily living support, personal care quality,
   70  and overall client well-being Patients requiring emergency care
   71  for wound infections.
   72         3. Workforce stability and development, including employee
   73  satisfaction, retention rates, and training initiatives
   74  appropriate to the home health agency’s services Patients
   75  admitted or readmitted to an acute care hospital.
   76         4. Innovation in care delivery, such as implementing new
   77  technologies, caregiver education programs, or tailored
   78  approaches to meeting patient or client needs Patient
   79  improvement in the activities of daily living.
   80         5. Employee satisfaction.
   81         6. Quality of employee training.
   82         7. Employee retention rates.
   83         8. High performance under federal Medicaid electronic visit
   84  verification requirements.
   85         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.