patient receiving primary care services from a “health care practitioner” would be “offered” a Hepatitis C screening test. • If there was a positive result, the bill would have required the health care practitioner to forward the results to the patient’s primary health care practitioner for patient counseling and follow-up care. See Voting Record for CS/SB 824 p. 42; CS/HB 465 p. 42 Certification of Assisted Living Facility Administrators: CS/CS/SB 316, by Senator Bean, FAILED. AARP opposed this bill. The companion bill, HB 579, by Representative Pilon, never had a committee hearing. • This legislation would have provided ALF administrator applicants an optional way to demonstrate compliance with state licensure requirements, i.e., through third-party credentialing agencies. • However, AARP contended that third-party credentialing with appeal rights to the Florida Department of Elder Affairs would have triggered an applicant’s right to a formal hearing under the state’s Administrative Procedures Act. That would have added unnecessary expense for the DOEA and for applicants. AARP contended that the standard state licensure process would have made more sense. See Voting Record for CS/CS/SB 316 p. 43 Nursing Home Guide Watch List: The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) publishes a Florida Nursing Home Guide, which includes a Watch List that identifies nursing homes operating under bankruptcy protection or nursing homes operating under a conditional licensure status during the previous 30 months. Conditional status denotes that a facility failed to meet or to correct, upon follow-up, minimum standards at the time of an inspection. SB 1154, by Senator Soto, FAILED. AARP monitored this bill. The companion bill, HB 787, by Representative Saunders, never had a committee hearing. • This legislation would have required any nursing home placed on the Watch List to post a sign indicating that it is on the watch list and to give written notice of its placement on the Watch List to the primary familial contact for
each resident. See Voting Record for SB 1154 p. 43
Palliative Care: CS/SB 1192, by Senator Sobel, FAILED. AARP monitored this bill. The companion bill, HB 995, by Representative Clelland, never had a committee hearing. The legislation would have: • Established the Florida Palliative Care and Quality of Life Interdisciplinary Advisory Council and the Palliative Care Consumer and Professional Information and Education Program within the Department of Health (DOH). • Directed the DOH to include palliative care information and links on its website. • Directed specific health care practitioners and facilities to provide patients with information about palliative care as ordered by the patient’s health care practitioners. See Voting Record for CS/SB 1192 p. 43 CS/CS/HB 409, by Representative Passidomo, PASSED. The legislation is now Chapter No. 2012-200, Laws of Florida, effective October 1, 2014. The companion bill was CS/SB 588, by Senator Richter. AARP supported the legislation. The legislation: • Provides additional protections for elderly and disabled citizens who are vulnerable to exploitation, and increases the penalties for such exploitation. • Enhances penalties for stealing personal identification information of persons 60 years of age and older. • Clarifies that if a person obtains funds, assets or property of an elderly or disabled adult, it is not essential to prove “deception or intimidation” by that person in order for the actions to Consumer Protections Offenses Against Vulnerable Persons: constitute exploitation of a vulnerable person. • Establishes new violation threshold values for property involved in exploitation of elderly persons or disabled adults: First degree felony: $50,000 and upward (down from $100,000 and upward); second degree felony: $10,000 up to $50,000 (down from $20,000 to $100,000); and third degree felony: Less than $10,000 (down from $20,000 or less). See Voting Record for CS/CS/HB 409 p. 44; CS/ CS/SB 588 p. 46
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