Fla. passes LTC wait-list prioritization law

Florida will begin a formal process to streamline program applicants for the state’s long-term care services, including certain nursing home residents who are transitioning back to the community.

The new law, one of 68 bills signed by Gov. Rick Scott last week, requires the Department of Elderly Affairs (DOEA) to maintain a list of those enrolled in home and community-based long-term care services or waiting to be considered for them. The DOEA also must develop assessment and triage tools to determine who is in the most need of services, assign each person a “priority score” and maintain formal waiting lists based on priority, the law states.

Certain groups will receive special priority without having to be screened or put on a waiting list. Among these are people who have lived in a skilled nursing facility for at least 60 consecutive days and wish to transition to the community.

The new law will take effect July 1, 2016.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.