Florida SNF operators welcome tort reform.

A bill signed into law May 15 by Gov. Jeb Bush will make it more difficult to bring lawsuits against Florida's nursing homes, It also requires these facilities to meet more rigorous quality-of-care requirements. While generally applauded by the state's long term care providers, the legislation has drawn mixed reviews from plaintiff lawyers and eldercare advocates.

According to Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan, who saw the legislation through many months of debate, the new law will make it more affordable for long term care providers to operate in Florida. It caps punitive damages, eliminates automatic attorney fees, and raises the burden of proof in abuse cases. A major objective is to bring back liability insurance companies that have left Florida due to mounting losses from nursing home litigation. (See "Is liability coverage an endangered species?" February 2001 CLTC, page 30.)

Quality-care provisions include staffing increases, daily charting of ADLs, in house risk managers, more stringent inspections, and stiffer fines. Legislators set aside approximately $77 million for the bill, most of which will pay for additional staff.

Previously, Florida required nursing homes to provide 1.7 hours of CNA care per resident per day. The state's 700 skilled nursing facilities now have until Jan. 1, 2002, to raise the rate to 2.3 hours. In January 2003, the requirement increases to 2.6 hours; in 2004, it goes to 2.9 hours.

"We think it's a very fair and balanced bill," says Ed Towey, spokesman for the Florida Health Care Association. "We also have an immediate challenge in securing the additional 3,500 CNAs the bill calls for by January 2002."

Towey maintains that the bill would have "crashed and burned" without tort reform. "You cannot improve quality when you're draining resources--and that's what the lawsuits were doing," he says.

Objections overruled

The legislation has rankled some members of Florida's plaintiff bar, who feel that it strongly favors the nursing home operators. Lance Block, president of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, urged Gov. Bush to veto the bill, calling it "very light on quality of care."

Steven Vancore, a spokesman for Wilkes & McHugh--the Tampa-based law firm that has won several large verdicts against nursing homes--is more optimistic. 'Overall, it's moderate tort reform coupled with significant improvements in quality," he says.

Barbara Hengstebeck, director of the Coalition to Protect America's Elders, opposes the tort reform while praising the quality-of-care provisions. "Nursing homes are going to have to change the way they do business," she says.