In testimony to the House Select Committee on Hurricane Preparedness, Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) chief lobbyist Bob Asztalos urged lawmakers to look beyond issues related to emergency generators as they consider legislation dealing with nursing home procedures in disasters.
Asztalos told legislators FHCA is committed to implementing the governor’s mandate that nursing homes and assisted living facilities have generator capacity to keep their residents cool and safe during a disaster. He offered a set of recommendations that would strengthen the emergency procedures in nursing centers and ALFs and help them meet the Governor’s goal in a careful, timely manner that ensures the work is done correctly and safely.
In his remarks to the committee, Asztalos vowed, “We stand ready to work together with the Legislature, agencies and the Governor’s office to get this right.” His other comments included:
Complex Needs
“The debate must extend beyond generators and fuel. Nursing homes care for residents whose medical needs are extremely complex – many depend on ventilators, oxygen, dialysis and other life sustaining mechanical support. … We don’t understand how power restoration is prioritized in the state. I ask that the Legislature formalize the system for determining power restoration, and that priority restoration be given to our centers. “
Evacuations
“We found a disconnect between the local emergency management personnel and the long term care providers. Nursing homes seek to harden in place, and evacuation is a very last resort. The local emergency managers want to evacuate people quickly because they have a much bigger scope than just our facilities. I believe we need to foster open dialogue between the two groups to better coordinate when nursing homes should be evacuated.”
Special Needs Shelters
“Nursing home residents cannot just be loaded on a bus and dropped off at a shelter. They are too frail, many are in wheelchairs and they must travel with their medications, records, staff, and other life-sustaining equipment. If a bus pulls up to a shelter and the seniors on it walk off, they are not from a nursing home. The reality is that, during storms, nursing homes are called upon to take occupants from special need shelters when they are full or when the county is trying to close them after the storm. I believe this process can be better formalized.”
Florida Health Care Association
FHCA Statement on Constitution Revision Commission Proposal 0088
Florida Health Care Association Executive Director Emmett Reed issued the following statement after Constitution Revision Commission member Brecht Heuchan filed a proposal (0088) that would weaken protections for nursing home residents:
“Some things simply do not belong in the Florida Constitution, which is the core document that sets out the basic structure of our government. With a glaringly bad proposal, one Constitution Revision Commission member would wipe out more than 30 years of meaningful and thoughtful progress designed to ensure that nursing home residents have the right to quality care and the services they need. Unfortunately, this member appears to have lost sight of the fact that the select members of this august body have a profound duty not just to those in their workday lives, but indeed to all Floridians.
With this proposal, a professional lobbyist representing trial attorneys has ignored his broader obligations in order to serve the narrow interest of his clients. The proposed constitutional amendment is an egregious governmental overstep, one that overreaches to a monumental extent. Since the 1987 Nursing Home Reform Act, nursing home residents in Florida have had important rights and protections under both state and federal law. This amendment seems to contain every bad proposal rejected by the Legislature over the last several years. It would add nothing to the quality of life for our state’s frailest elders, nor would it solve the real issues of keeping nursing home residents safe during disasters. It would only serve the interests of greedy trial attorneys who continually attempt to cash in by suing nursing homes.
Quality care and quality of life are a top priority for the Florida Health Care Association and the more than 550 nursing home members we represent. By undermining the effective reforms enacted in recent years, this awful proposal would do nothing but create an open door for trial attorneys to file meritless lawsuits. It has no place in our laws, and it certainly has no place in our state’s constitution.”
FHCA Pledges Support for Nursing Home Plans, Urges Reasonable Approach
Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) today affirmed their commitment to working with Governor Scott and the Legislature to take appropriate steps to protect frail residents of skilled nursing centers from the impacts of natural disasters.
In a statement FHCA Executive Director Emmett Reed said, “Governor Scott has taken the right course by asking state agencies to begin a rulemaking process so each skilled nursing center and assisted living facility has the means to maintain essential power in the aftermath of a disaster. FHCA, its members, and its partners look forward to providing meaningful input in this process as we work to ensure that our residents can be kept cool and safe in a disaster.”
In separate legislative testimony today, FHCA leaders detailed the challenges faced by long term care providers in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma and the solutions FHCA is proposing going forward.
Bob Asztalos, FHCA’s lead lobbyist, told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services that the association fully supports the goal behind Governor Rick Scott’s call for emergency generators at all long-term care and assisted living facilities. However, he said, implementation must allow for achievable timelines that give centers sufficient opportunity to acquire and properly install the backup generators. “Experts have made it clear that the timeline that’s been put forth is simply not achievable. We have drafted changes to the rule and other recommendations that would give nursing homes and ALFs time and flexibility to meet the objective of keeping residents in a cool and safe environment during a disaster,” Asztalos said. “We share the same goal as the Governor and the Legislature – to ensure that our centers are as safe as possible, as soon as possible – so let’s work together to get this right.”
In remarks to the House Energy & Utilities Subcommittee, Reed noted that long-term care facilities face greater challenges than they did a decade ago because skilled nursing centers care for residents who until recently would have been in hospitals with powerful emergency backup generators – individuals who depend on ventilators, oxygen, dialysis, and other life-sustaining mechanical support. “We saw over 400 nursing centers across Florida lose power during Hurricane Irma,” Reed testified. Prioritizing nursing centers as critical facilities – similar to how hospitals are prioritized – will ensure that our residents receive assistance in a manner that is consistent with their medical needs.”
Florida Health Care Association, LeadingAge Florida Host Nursing Center Emergency Preparedness Summit
MEDIA ADVISORY
Florida Health Care Association and LeadingAge Florida will host a Nursing Center Emergency Preparedness Summit this Friday, September 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The summit will discuss the governor’s emergency rule regarding the safety of nursing center residents during natural disasters. Speakers at the summit will address recent proposals to equip nursing centers with generators, including technical issues, implementation, regulatory requirements, and funding sources. For more information about the event, please visit http://emergencyprepsummit.com/.
What: Nursing Center Emergency Preparedness Summit
Who: Experts who will discuss Florida’s nursing centers and the unique level of care required for residents during natural disasters.
Confirmed Attendees Include:
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis
Florida Surgeon General Celeste Philip, MD
Department of Elder Affairs Secretary Jeffrey Bragg
Representatives from Florida’s long term care profession, generator suppliers, construction industry, fuel suppliers, and utility companies, along with federal and state regulators and management personnel.
Invited Guests:
Florida Governor Rick Scott
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis
Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Justin Senior
Numerous legislative leaders
When: Friday, September 22, 2017
10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Where: University Center Club
403 Stadium Drive
Tallahassee
Florida Health Care Association Honors Long Term Care Professionals, Legislators
Annual conference to highlight advocates of elder
More than 1,000 long term care providers from across Florida will attend the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) Annual Conference to honor long term care professionals, recognize supportive legislators and provide specialized trainings to enhance the care of elders across the state. The conference, which will be held July 31 to August 4 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, will be centered around the theme, “FHCA University.”
The conference will also honor a dozen legislators who demonstrated a deep commitment to elders and others who need the services of long term care centers by supporting key legislation. Recognized as 2017 Champions for the Elderly are Senate President Joe Negron of Palm City and Senators Rob Bradley of Orange Park, Anitere Flores of Miami, René Garcia of Hialeah and Kelli Stargel of Lakeland, as well as House Speaker Richard Corcoran of Lutz and Representatives Daisy Baez of Coral Gables, Travis Cummings of Orange Park, Shawn Harrison of Tampa, Alex Miller of Sarasota and Frank White of Pensacola.
“Florida is fortunate to have so many extraordinary supporters for our long term care residents and families, from the people who work in our care centers to the legislators who advocate on their behalf,” said Emmett Reed, FHCA executive director. “This conference is an opportunity to bring together so many people who tirelessly perform work that is challenging but so meaningful.”
Attendees will hear from inspirational speakers including Leigh Anne Tuohy, the mother at the heart of the book and film the Blind Side; former Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson, who serves as President and CEO of American Health Care Association; Kim Smoak, a bureau chief in the Division of Health Quality Assurance within the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration; and renowned international photographer Platon.
ABOUT FLORIDA HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION
The Florida Health Care Association is a federation that serves almost 1,000 members and represents over 500 long term care centers that provide skilled nursing, post-acute and sub-acute care, short-term rehab, assisted living, and other services to the frail elderly and individuals with disabilities in Florida. The mission of FHCA is to advance the quality of services, image, professional development, and financial stability of its members. As Florida’s first and largest advocacy organization for long term care providers and the elderly they serve, the Association has worked diligently since 1954 to assist its members with continuously improving quality of care and quality of life for the state’s growing elder care population. For more information about Florida Health Care Association, visit www.fhca.org.
Statement by FHCA Following Passage of Senator Kelli Stargel's SB 682
Statement from Emmett Reed, Executive Director of the Florida Health Care Association, following passage of Senator Kelli Stargel’s SB 682 by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services:
“We want to thank Senator Flores and members of the committee for this important vote to remove long-stay nursing center residents from Florida’s managed care program. Our current system of managed care doesn’t work effectively for those residents who cannot take care of themselves or be safely cared for in the community because their medical needs are simply too complex. By making this common-sense change, Florida stands to save $68.2 million in fees the state is charged each year for unnecessary management services. Senator Stargel’s work on this important issue will also ensure nursing centers have access to managed care networks without fear of cancellation, so that residents and their families won’t have to make the difficult choice between their home and a benefits package that fits their needs.”
FHCA statement after Senate Appropriations Committee approved plan to establish PPS
Emmett Reed, executive director of the Florida Health Care Association, issued the following statement after the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a plan to establish a prospective payment system (PPS) for nursing center reimbursement:
“The Florida Health Care Association strongly supports the Senate’s plan, which puts a top priority on providing high-quality care for the residents under our care. The Senate plan recognizes the value of establishing a funding mechanism the creates incentives for quality, and we applaud senators’ commitment to addressing reimbursement in a way that benefits our state’s most fragile citizens. We look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature to bring about positive change to health care through implementation of this PPS plan.”
130+ Members of FHCA to Gather at Capitol, Address in Support of Senate PPS Plan
MEDIA ADVISORY
Members of the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) will hold a media availability tomorrow morning to support the Senate’s plan for a Prospective Payment Plan for nursing center reimbursement. The event will be held Wednesday, April 5, at 9:00 a.m. on the 4th floor of the Capitol. FHCA represents 82 percent of Florida skilled nursing centers, and up to 130 long term caregivers will be in the Capitol to explain how the Senate PPS plan will encourage quality care and promote improvement. Speakers at the media availability will include Sen. Rene Garcia, FHCA Executive Director Emmett Reed, Cliff Bauer of Miami Jewish Health Systems, and Jamey Richardson of Gulf Coast Health Care. For interview opportunities and more information regarding the meeting, please contact Herbie Thiele.
What: Florida Health Care Association media availability regarding Senate PPS plan
Who: Sen. Rene Garcia
Emmett Reed, FHCA Executive Director
Cliff Bauer, Miami Jewish Health Systems
Jamey Richardson, Gulf Coast Health Care
When: Wednesday, April 5, at 9:00 a.m.
Where: 4th Floor of the Capitol
CONTACT:
Herbie Thiele
[email protected]
(850) 222-1996
FHCA: Managed Care Exemption Will Save Taxpayers Millions, Not Carry High Cost Projected by State
The Florida Health Care Association today rejected figures developed by the state that suggest a proposal to remove skilled nursing centers from managed care would carry an extreme cost. The state’s calculations are seriously flawed, FHCA told a Senate committee, and instead of the $200 million cost identified by the state, the carve-out would actually save taxpayers $68.2 million per year.
The state Agency for Health Care Administration has shared its estimate of the impact of excluding nursing centers from the managed long term care component of the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care system. However, FHCA told members of the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee that the state agency’s numbers were based on incorrect assumptions.
Tom Parker, FHCA’s Director of Reimbursement, testified that the state figures are based on an assumption of what it would cost the state IF individuals who received home- and community-based services during certain times had instead been cared for in a nursing center. “But that’s not how the system works, and it’s not what this bill does,” Parker said. “Rather, this bill focuses solely on exempting long-stay nursing center residents. There are no savings to be realized for these individuals, because their health and medical needs can only be addressed in a nursing center. They cannot be safely cared for in a home or a community setting.”
Florida’s system of managed care does not work effectively for long-stay nursing center residents who can’t take care of themselves or be safely cared for in the community. Parker cited data previously announced by FHCA showing that the system is costing taxpayers approximately $68.2 million in unnecessary fees each year by charging for management services that are not needed.
More than 47,000 Floridians live in nursing centers and are enrolled in the long term managed care program, a 25 percent increase since 2014. Parker said managed care ensures that only those who truly need nursing home care are admitted into nursing centers – but that amounts to less than 2 percent of Florida seniors over the age of 65, well below the national average is 5 percent.
“Florida is doing a much better job than other states and the nation at ensuring seniors are receiving care in the most appropriate place and the least restrictive setting,” Parker told senators.
Managed care does not work well, however, for long term stay residents, those who are in nursing homes for more than 60 days. Parker pointed to state data showing that managed care companies transition only about 4 percent of the nursing home Medicaid population into community care, leaving the remaining 96 percent continuing to receive their care in skilled nursing centers.
“For those individuals, we believe that the state and the nursing home can save money if they returned to a straight fee for service,” Parker said. “Florida has a long-standing commitment to help elders stay in their homes or community settings for as long as possible. But we must also recognize that for more and more of the frailest residents, a nursing home is the best – and perhaps only – realistic option.”
Additional FHCA witness reinforced the benefits to both residents and the nursing centers from excluding them from the managed care system
For more information about Florida Health Care Association and their legislative initiative to exempt long-stay nursing residents from Florida’s Medicaid Managed Care System, visit http://tinyurl.com/FHCAMgdCare17.
FHCA Executive Director Emmett Reed Statement In Response To AHCA's Bill Analysis on SB 682
Florida Health Care Association Executive Director Emmett Reed Issued The Following Statement In Response To AHCA’s Bill Analysis on SB 682
“While we respect the Agency, it has completely missed the point by failing to recognize that our proposal would apply only to those Floridians whose frail condition prevents them from using less costly home- and community-based care options. AHCA’s figures are based on an assumption of what it would cost the state IF individuals who received home- and community-based services during certain times had instead been cared for in a nursing center. But that’s not how the system works, and it’s not what Senator Stargel’s bill does.
Senate Bill 682 focuses solely on exempting long-stay nursing center residents. There are no savings to be realized in a home- and community-based setting for these individuals. Their health and medical needs can be addressed only in a nursing center, and they cannot be safely cared for in a home or a community setting. The state will save almost $68 million when these long-stay residents are exempted from the managed care system, because it will eliminate the redundancy of the managed care administrative and case management fees – which duplicate services and support that is already provided by the nursing center’s interdisciplinary team of social workers, nurses, and other clinical staff.”
