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: 19 400.476Staffing 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 administrators absence. 36 Section 2.Subsection (5) of section 400.487, Florida 37 Statutes, is amended to read: 38 400.487Home health service agreements; physicians, 39 physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses 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: 55 400.52Excellence 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 agencys 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.