The Florida Senate

430.041  Office of Long-Term-Care Policy.--

(1)  There is established the Office of Long-Term-Care Policy to evaluate the state's long-term-care service delivery system, to make recommendations to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government-funded long-term-care programs for the elderly, and to ensure coordination among the agencies responsible for setting policies for funding and for administering long-term-care programs for the elderly. The office shall be located in the Department of Elderly Affairs for administrative purposes only and shall not be subject to control, supervision, or direction by the department.

(2)  The purpose of the Office of Long-Term-Care Policy is to:

(a)  Ensure close communication and coordination among state agencies involved in developing and administering a more efficient and coordinated long-term-care service delivery system in this state;

(b)  Review current programs providing long-term-care services to the elderly, including those in home, community-based, and institutional settings, and review program evaluations to determine whether the programs are cost effective, of high quality, and operating efficiently and make recommendations to increase consistency and effectiveness in the state's long-term-care programs;

(c)  Develop specific implementation strategies and funding recommendations for promoting and implementing cost-effective home and community-based services as an alternative to institutional care, when appropriate, which coordinate and integrate the continuum of care needs of the elderly; and

(d)  Recommend roles for state agencies that are responsible for administering long-term-care programs for the elderly and an organization framework for the planning, coordination, implementation, and evaluation of long-term-care programs for the elderly.

(3)  The Director of the Office of Long-Term-Care Policy shall be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Governor.

(4)(a)  The Department of Elderly Affairs shall provide administrative support and services to the Office of Long-Term-Care Policy.

(b)  The office shall call upon appropriate agencies of state government, including the centers on aging in the State University System, for assistance needed in discharging its duties.

(c)  All state agencies and universities shall assist the office in carrying out its responsibilities prescribed by this section.

(d)  The Secretary of Health Care Administration, the Secretary of Elderly Affairs, the Secretary of Children and Family Services, the Secretary of Health, and the Executive Director of the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall each appoint at least one high-level employee with the authority to recommend and implement agency policy and with experience in the area of long-term-care service delivery and financing to work with the Office of Long-Term-Care Policy, as part of an interagency coordinating team. The interagency coordinating team shall meet monthly with the director of the Office of Long-Term-Care Policy to implement the purposes of the office.

(e)  Each state agency shall pay from its own funds any expenses related to its support of the Office of Long-Term-Care Policy.

(5)  By December 31 of each year, the office shall submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a report of its activities, progress made in improving the long-term-care continuum in this state and make recommendations. The report shall contain the activities completed by the office during the calendar year, a plan of activities for the following year, recommendations and implementation proposals for policy changes, and legislative and funding recommendations that will make the system more effective and efficient. The report shall contain specific implementation strategies, with timelines, for accomplishing the recommendations and proposals set out in the report.

History.--s. 10, ch. 2002-223; s. 1, ch. 2003-67; s. 5, ch. 2004-386.