This session, the Florida Health Care Association advocated its most ambitious agenda in years — and has done so with extraordinary results.
It is the only profession to pass tort reform (see SB 670), it passed a major Certificate of Need reform bill without any of the customary CON acrimony (see HB 287), it met its goals in the budget, and successfully supported an increase in nursing home residents’ personal needs allowance from $35 to $105 per month.
Success on a tort reform measure alone would be enough to place the FHCA on the 2014 “winner’s” list. SB 670 was written to ensure that nursing home residents and their families are able to pursue lawsuits against those directly at fault for negative events while preventing unreasonable, frivolous claims against passive investors who have no role in care decisions.
Behind the FHCA’s legislative triumphs this year were a strong team of lobbyists and media consultants — namely Sachs Media Group, and 22 lobbyists including this year’s TallyMadness winner Jon Johnson. Others on the team are the FHCA’s internal legislative director Bob Asztalos, along with Sean Pittman, Matt Bryan, Allison Carvajal, David Ramba, Travis Blanton, Melanie Brown, and Amy Christian.
