This bill seeks to improve the quality of care in nursing homes in Florida by implementing several significant measures. It revives and amends section 400.0225 of the Florida Statutes, mandating the Agency for Health Care Administration to create user-friendly consumer satisfaction surveys for nursing home facilities, which will be administered annually to a random sample of residents and their families. The bill prohibits any influence from employees or volunteers on residents' responses and requires the agency to publish aggregated survey data online for public comparison. Additionally, nursing homes will be required to conduct biennial patient safety culture surveys and submit the results to the agency.

The bill also introduces new qualifications for medical directors of nursing homes, which must be met by January 1, 2026, and requires their names to be listed on the facility's online profile. It mandates nursing homes with electronic health records to provide data to the Florida Health Information Exchange program and imposes administrative fines for non-compliance with financial reporting. Furthermore, the bill allows health care facilities to receive a one-time extension for filing reports under certain conditions and specifies that a facility cannot be fined multiple times for the same violation. It also revises the methodology for calculating Quality Incentive Program payments to include consumer satisfaction survey results and requires a comprehensive study of nursing home quality incentive programs in other states, with a final report due by December 1, 2025. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
S 170 Filed: 400.141, 400.191, 408.061, 409.908
S 170 c1: 400.141, 400.191, 408.08, 409.908
S 170 c2: 400.141, 400.191, 408.08, 409.908