Nursing home expansion bill passes Senate

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On Friday, the Florida Senate unanimously passed HB 287, a bill that could lead to more nursing home beds statewide.

With a 38-0 vote, the Senate passed the same bill passed by the House last month.

One of the main purposes of HB 287 is to lift the moratorium on new nursing-home beds, which has been in effect since 2001 through what is called a “certificate of need” process. The moratorium was scheduled to expire Oct. 1, after the completion of the state’s move to a Medicaid managed-care system.

The new bill repeals the prohibition as of July 1, as well as enacting a series of other changes in the certificate of need process.

Although the proposal allows more beds, the Agency for Health Care Administration is not able to issue additional certificates of need until 3,750 extra beds are permitted over a three-year period.

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.