Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1588 By Senator Simon 3-00912A-25 20251588__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the Agency for Health Care 3 Administration; amending s. 408.05, F.S.; deleting the 4 State Consumer Health Information and Policy Advisory 5 Council; amending s. 429.177, F.S.; defining the term 6 memory care services; requiring memory care 7 providers to follow specified standards of operation 8 in providing memory care services; providing 9 applicability; providing requirements for resident 10 contracts; providing requirements for memory care 11 facilities; prohibiting certain facilities from 12 advertising, representing, or holding themselves out 13 as memory care providers unless such facilities meet 14 specified criteria; repealing s. 429.178, F.S., 15 relating to special care for persons with Alzheimers 16 disease or other related disorders; amending s. 17 627.4236, F.S.; deleting rulemaking authority; 18 providing effective dates. 19 20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21 22 Section 1.Paragraph (g) of subsection (3) and subsection 23 (6) of section 408.05, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 24 408.05Florida Center for Health Information and 25 Transparency. 26 (3)HEALTH INFORMATION TRANSPARENCY.In order to 27 disseminate and facilitate the availability of comparable and 28 uniform health information, the agency shall perform the 29 following functions: 30 (g)Consult with contracted vendors, the State Consumer 31 Health Information and Policy Advisory Council, and other public 32 and private users regarding the types of data that should be 33 collected and the use of such data. 34 (6)STATE CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATION AND POLICY ADVISORY 35 COUNCIL. 36 (a)There is established in the agency the State Consumer 37 Health Information and Policy Advisory Council to assist the 38 center. The council consists of the following members: 39 1.An employee of the Executive Office of the Governor, to 40 be appointed by the Governor. 41 2.An employee of the Office of Insurance Regulation, to be 42 appointed by the director of the office. 43 3.An employee of the Department of Education, to be 44 appointed by the Commissioner of Education. 45 4.Ten persons, to be appointed by the Secretary of Health 46 Care Administration, representing other state and local 47 agencies, state universities, business and health coalitions, 48 local health councils, professional health-care-related 49 associations, consumers, and purchasers. 50 (b)Each member of the council shall be appointed to serve 51 for a term of 2 years following the date of appointment. A 52 vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the remainder of the 53 term, and each appointing authority retains the right to 54 reappoint members whose terms of appointment have expired. 55 (c)The council may meet at the call of its chair, at the 56 request of the agency, or at the request of a majority of its 57 membership, but the council must meet at least quarterly. 58 (d)Members shall elect a chair and vice chair annually. 59 (e)A majority of the members constitutes a quorum, and the 60 affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum is necessary to take 61 action. 62 (f)The council shall maintain minutes of each meeting and 63 shall make such minutes available to any person. 64 (g)Members of the council shall serve without compensation 65 but shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for per diem and 66 travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061. 67 (h)The councils duties and responsibilities include, but 68 are not limited to, the following: 69 1.To develop a mission statement, goals, and a plan of 70 action for the identification, collection, standardization, 71 sharing, and coordination of health-related data across federal, 72 state, and local government and private sector entities. 73 2.To develop a review process to ensure cooperative 74 planning among agencies that collect or maintain health-related 75 data. 76 3.To create ad hoc issue-oriented technical workgroups on 77 an as-needed basis to make recommendations to the council. 78 Section 2.Effective January 1, 2026, section 429.177, 79 Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 80 429.177Patients with Alzheimers disease, dementia, or 81 other memory related disorders; certain disclosures; minimum 82 standards. 83 (1)Memory care services means specialized or focused 84 care and services designed to address health or behavioral 85 issues resulting from Alzheimers disease, dementia, or other 86 memory disorders. 87 (2)(a)A facility that advertises itself as a memory care 88 provider or otherwise claims that the facility provides memory 89 care services, including, but not limited to, services for 90 residents with Alzheimers disease, dementia, or other memory 91 disorders, must meet all of the following standards of operation 92 for such services: 93 1.Develop and implement policies and procedures addressing 94 all of the following: 95 a.Admittance criteria. 96 b.Care and services necessary to address the needs of 97 persons admitted for memory care services. 98 2.Provide activities specifically designed and offered for 99 persons admitted for memory care services. 100 3.Maintain a current and accurate log of residents 101 admitted as receiving memory care services. 102 (b)The standards in paragraph (a) apply to any unit 103 designated for the provision of memory care services or to a 104 facility that provides memory care services to any resident 105 admitted and requiring such services. 106 (3)In addition to the requirements of s. 429.24, resident 107 contracts must specify all memory care services to be provided 108 and any related costs should those costs exceed standard room 109 and board. 110 (4)In addition to the requirements of s. 429.26(7), for 111 persons residing in a memory care facility, the facility shall: 112 (a)Notify a licensed physician when a resident has a 113 change of condition specific to increased or more severe 114 dementia or other memory disorder to ensure that appropriate 115 care is provided to the resident. The notification must occur 116 within 30 days after the acknowledgement of such changes in 117 condition by facility staff. 118 (b)If a change in the residents condition is determined 119 to exist, notify the residents representative or designee and 120 assist in making appointments for the necessary care and 121 services for treatment of the change in condition. 122 (c)If the resident does not have a representative or 123 designee, or if the residents representative or designee cannot 124 be located or is unresponsive, arrange with the appropriate 125 health care provider for the necessary care and services for 126 treatment of the change in condition. 127 (5)(a)The memory care facility or unit, if a memory care 128 provider has a specific unit designated for memory care 129 services, must have at least one staff member present to provide 130 care and services at all times. The staff member shall: 131 1.Stay awake at all times while on duty. 132 2.Meet any training requirements specified by statute or 133 rule for assisted living facilities, including the training and 134 continuing education requirements of s. 430.5025. 135 3.Be certified in first aid and cardiopulmonary 136 resuscitation. 137 (b)A staff member administering medication or providing 138 assistance with the self-administration of medication may not be 139 considered as the sole staff member toward the staffing 140 requirement while engaged in these tasks. 141 (6)A facility licensed under this part which claims that 142 it provides special care for persons who have Alzheimers 143 disease, dementia, or other memory related disorders must 144 disclose in its advertisements or in a separate document those 145 services that distinguish the care as being especially 146 applicable to, or suitable for, such persons. The facility must 147 give a copy of all such advertisements or a copy of the document 148 to each person who requests information about programs and 149 services for persons with Alzheimers disease, dementia, or 150 other memory related disorders offered by the facility and must 151 maintain a copy of all such advertisements and documents in its 152 records. The agency shall examine all such advertisements and 153 documents in the facilitys records as part of the license 154 renewal procedure. 155 Section 3.Effective January 1, 2026, section 429.178, 156 Florida Statutes, is repealed. 157 Section 4.Subsection (3) of section 627.4236, Florida 158 Statutes, is amended to read: 159 627.4236Coverage for bone marrow transplant procedures. 160 (3)(a)The Agency for Health Care Administration shall 161 adopt rules specifying the bone marrow transplant procedures 162 that are accepted within the appropriate oncological specialty 163 and are not experimental for purposes of this section. The rules 164 must be based upon recommendations of an advisory panel 165 appointed by the secretary of the agency, composed of: 166 1.One adult oncologist, selected from a list of three 167 names recommended by the Florida Medical Association; 168 2.One pediatric oncologist, selected from a list of three 169 names recommended by the Florida Pediatric Society; 170 3.One representative of the J. Hillis Miller Health Center 171 at the University of Florida; 172 4.One representative of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center 173 and Research Institute, Inc.; 174 5.One consumer representative, selected from a list of 175 three names recommended by the Chief Financial Officer; 176 6.One representative of the Health Insurance Association 177 of America; 178 7.Two representatives of health insurers, one of whom 179 represents the insurer with the largest Florida health insurance 180 premium volume and one of whom represents the insurer with the 181 second largest Florida health insurance premium volume; and 182 8.One representative of the insurer with the largest 183 Florida small group health insurance premium volume. 184 (b)The director shall also appoint a member of the 185 advisory panel to serve as chairperson. 186 (c)The agency shall provide, within existing resources, 187 staff support to enable the panel to carry out its 188 responsibilities under this section. 189 (d)In making recommendations and adopting rules under this 190 section, the advisory panel and the director shall: 191 1.Take into account findings, studies, or research of the 192 federal Agency for Health Care Policy, National Cancer 193 Institute, National Academy of Sciences, Health Care Financing 194 Administration, and Congressional Office of Technology 195 Assessment, and any other relevant information. 196 2.Consider whether the federal Food and Drug 197 Administration or National Cancer Institute is conducting or 198 sponsoring assessment procedures to determine the safety and 199 efficacy of the procedure or substantially similar procedures, 200 or of any part of such procedures. 201 3.Consider practices of providers with respect to 202 requesting or requiring patients to sign a written 203 acknowledgment that a bone marrow transplant procedure is 204 experimental. 205 (e)The advisory panel shall conduct, at least biennially, 206 a review of scientific evidence to ensure that its 207 recommendations are based on current research findings and that 208 insurance policies offer coverage for the latest medically 209 acceptable bone marrow transplant procedures. 210 Section 5.Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 211 act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2025.