FALA 2024 Legislative Priorities

Florida ranks # 1 in the nation for its percentage of residents age 65+ and is second only to California for the total number of residents age 65+.   Not only are our elderly the fastest growing segment of our population, but people are living longer than ever, causing them to outlive their resources and become reliant on Medicaid as their care needs continue to increase with advanced age and disability.  

Assisted living providers are rising to meet these challenges by offering critically important and cost-effective care to Florida’s most vulnerable population.  Unfortunately, assisted living and its important role in the healthcare continuum is often misunderstood and has been largely overlooked, causing assisted living services to be undervalued and, in many ways, historically excluded from both private and government funding sources allocated for long-term care needs.

This has put a strain on assisted living providers and restricted access to much needed care and services for a great number of low-income Floridians.  Due to insufficient funding, there are fewer and fewer Assisted Living facilities willing and able to accept low-income/Medicaid dependent Floridians and provide them with the quality care and services they need.  Each year the demand for care and services increases in Florida, and so the supply and access to care must follow suit.

FALA believes that low income, frail elderly, and disabled Floridians deserve an acceptable quality of life and access to necessary care and services. FALA, its members, partners in care, and other stakeholders have identified three key items to improve quality of life, utilization of resources, and access to much-needed care for Florida’s most vulnerable population.

Therefore, FALA is proposing the following three key changes for the 2024 Legislative Session.

  1.  Increase Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) for Eligible ALF Residents
  2.  Increase Medicaid Assistive Care Services (ACS) Daily Fee Amount for ALFs
  3.  Remedy Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) Long-Term Care (LTC) Wait List Issues Negatively Impacting ALF Residents