Florida Health Care Association Executive Director Emmett Reed issued the following statement today after the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee voted in support of HB 7 related to Certificate of Need (CON):
“We remain strongly opposed to any legislation that eliminates the Certificate of Need process for Florida’s nursing centers. CON is an essential tool to ensure that our state’s oldest residents continue to receive the highest quality of care. Florida’s extraordinary commitment to home- and community-based care is important for elders who can retain a measure of independence, but many others require the specialized care provided at nursing centers. The CON process is important to managing nursing center growth based on a demonstrated need and making sure centers remain viable with the resources needed to provide the highest quality care.
“While we are disappointed today’s legislation still includes language abolishing CON for our profession, we will continue advocating to have nursing centers removed from the bill and working with the House sponsor and leadership to provide a full understanding of the importance of the process for our state’s seniors.”
