Florida House advances major healthcare bill affecting food stamps and Medicaid
A Florida House panel Thursday backed a wide-ranging plan that seeks to trim health-care regulations and carry out federal changes in programs such as food stamps and Medicaid.
The plan (HB 693), which was approved by the House Health Care Facilities & Systems Subcommittee, is one of two major health-care bills that House leaders rolled out for this year's legislative session. The other bill, which also has started moving forward, seeks to lower prescription-drug prices.
What the bill that was recently passed means for healthcare
The 143-page bill that advanced Thursday includes regulatory changes such as eliminating the state's long-debated "certificate of need" process, which restricts the addition of nursing homes, hospice providers and intermediate care facilities for people with developmental disabilities. The bill also would eliminate restrictions on advanced practice registered nurses practicing autonomously, allow dental hygienists to have greater authority to treat patients and remove a cap on the number of physician assistants that each doctor can supervise.
Bill sponsor Mike Redondo, R-Miami, said such proposals are "designed to strengthen Florida's ability to compete with other states for labor so we have a stronger health-care workforce and greater access to care, eliminate arbitrary government limits on market entry for key health-care providers and empower Floridians to make the best health-care choices for their families at the best price."
The controversies regarding this bill involves organizations representing hospice and nursing homes
But many of the proposals have long been controversial — and have faced opposition in the Senate. Groups such as the Florida Medical Association, the Florida Dental Association, the Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association and the Florida Health Care Association and LeadingAge Southeast — which both represent nursing homes — objected to the bill Thursday.
The hospice and nursing-home groups focused on the proposed elimination of the certificate of need process, which requires receiving a determination from the state that a need exists before facilities can be built or services expanded. Lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019 eliminated the so-called "CON" process for hospitals, but it remained for the three other types of facilities.
Supporters of eliminating the process have said such a move would be a more free-market approach. But opponents Thursday pointed to issues such as a shortage of health-care workers that they said would worsen if the CON process goes away and more facilities open..
"In the midst of a workforce crisis, the additional demand that would be created by repealing CON would no doubt increase scarcity, exacerbating a problem that exists in our state already," said Steve Bahmer, president and CEO of LeadingAge Southeast.
In trying to lift restrictions on advanced practice registered nurses and allow more authority for dental hygienists, the bill wades into what is known as a "scope of practice" debate. Opponents of such proposals contend, in part, that advanced practice registered nurses and dental hygienists don't have the same training as doctors and dentists.