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