Senate Passes its Version of $891 Million Health Care Reform Bill -- CLASS Plan Included in Senate Health Reform Bill - The Senate passed a potentially historic $871 billion health care reform bill Thursday morning after months of heated partisan debate in a 60 to 39 party line vote. Every member of the Democratic caucus backed the measure; every Republican opposed it.

If enacted, the measure would constitute the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over four decades ago. It is expected to extend insurance coverage to over 30 million additional Americans.

The bill now must be merged with a $1 trillion plan approved by the House of Representatives in November. Democrats hope to have a bill ready for Obama's signature before the president's State of the Union address early next year.

The bill also includes expansive new insurance industry regulations, though they are phased in over the next several years. Insurers, beginning in 2014, would not be allowed to deny customers due to preexisting conditions and would not be allowed to cap annual or lifetime benefits.  After the holiday break, both the House and Senate bills will have to be merged in Conference Committee.

It appears that the CLASS Act has good odds of staying in the final Conference Report, as it appears in both the House and Senate bills. However, it is likely that the opposition will not give up easily, and there may be additional opportunities to advocate in support of the CLASS Act in the coming weeks. Passage of a health care reform bill is not guaranteed, as there are large differences between the House and Senate bills. In the coming weeks, we will update our side-by-side comparison of all of the provisions that may affect long-term care providers contained in both the House and Senate bills.

Plymouth Harbor's Resident's Health Committee noted that more than ten percent of the population over sixty five had visual disability, mostly due to Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma or Diabetic Retinopathy.  They formed a Low Vision Support Group that holds monthly meetings. The meetings are divided into two sessions. The first encourages sharing information, support, and discussion of problems. Leading professionals are invited to speak during the second session.

It became evident that there were many visual problems but few rehabilitation programs available.  A planning group decided to develop a Low Vision Resource Center equipped with new and existing technologies. The resource center contains a state of the art computer system that can read and speak printed matter, a library of resource materials which can be read with the help of a special magnifying light, and an audio book library.  In addition, volunteers read documents and letters for residents.  Much of this has been made possible by a generous $10,000 grant from the John McGovern Foundation.

Hehn served on the previous Board of the Institute, however, a new appointment process was established by the 2009 legislature consisting of seven members and limited to two four-year terms.  Three appointments are to be made by the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House and the four remaining are to be made by the University of South Florida's Board of Trustees.

Hehn is the Executive Director of Florida Presbyterian Homes, Inc., a 300 resident continuing care retirement community. The community includes residents living in single family houses, apartments, assisted living and a forty-bed skilled nursing center. The nursing home is one of 18 Gold Seal providers in Florida. 

As a result of his profession in long-term care, Hehn has had extensive experience with individuals living with Alzheimer's disease and has firsthand knowledge of the pain and struggles of families caring for persons with the disease. Most recently, he was responsible for initiating a research project to evaluate the effects of a computer-based memory enhancing program that some of his residents will be using over the coming months.

January 12, 2010 - Covenant Village of Florida, Plantation 

January 13, 2010 - Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay, Sarasota  

January 14, 2010 - Waterman Village, Mount Dora  

January 15, 2010 - Advent Christian Village, Dowling Park

• January 19, 2010 -- Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plans Webinar - 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
• January 20, 2010 -- MDS 3.0 Webinar
• January 26 & 27, 2010 -- FAHSA Board of Trustees and Public Policy Meeting, Boca Raton Resort
• February, 16, 2010 -- Detecting Abuse and the Abuse Hotline Webinar
• February 25, 2010 -- CNA Train the Trainer, Orlando
• March 16, 2010 -- Medicaid Integrity and RAC Webinar
• March 23 & 24, 2010 -- Legislative Workshop, Tallahassee
• March 25 & 26, 2010 -- Leadership Academy, Tallahassee

Although using the EIV system for upfront income verification (UIV) is not mandatory at this time, it is anticipated that use of the system will become mandatory on January 31, 2010.  Using the data in EIV will assist HUD in meeting the Rental Housing Integrity Improvement Project's (RHIIP's) goal of ensuring that the right benefits go to the right persons by reducing errors in determining a tenant's income, thereby reducing the number of improper payments in Multifamily Housing's rental assistance programs.

For additional information on obtaining access to EIV click here to go to the Multifamily EIV website.

HUD 92006 Form Now Mandatory -- Owners and agents (O/A) must begin including form HUD-92006 as part of their application package.  Completion of the form is optional on the part of the applicant.

Housing Notice H-2009-13 provides guidance on implementation of the requirements of Section 644 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (Section 644). 

Notice H 2009-13 is available by clicking here.

Form HUD-92006 is available by clicking here.

Senator Haridopolos and Rep. Cannon Announce Statewide Job Summit - Senator Mike Haridopolos (R-26) and Representative Dean Cannon (R-35) held a press conference this week to announce their plans to conduct a Statewide Job Summit.  In November, Florida's unemployment rate hit an all time high of 11.5 percent.  The summit will set policy direction for the Florida legislature during the upcoming legislative session and will focus on government's obstacles and tax incentives to promote job growth.  The summit will be held in Orlando on January 14-15, 2010 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.

Florida Politicians Seek Extension of Federal Stimulus Dollars - The Florida legislature used federal stimulus money to balance the budget in 2009. Because of the recession, dependence on government services also increased over the past year.  Hundreds of thousands of Floridians have used extra federal unemployment funds and food stamps, as the number of jobless in the state rose to more than 1 million.  Thousands more have also been added to the state's Medicaid rolls.  

The stimulus funds expire at the end of 2010.  Florida's economy is not expected to rebound for another two to three years.  That's why the Florida Senate President and colleagues in both political parties appealed recently for congressional action to avoid cuts in Medicaid services when the current stimulus program ends which included a temporary increase in federal match for Medicaid.  If the stimulus law is not extended, Florida's share of the costs of the Medicaid program will increase by $668 million when the state anticipates a revenue shortfall of $2.6 billion for the 2010-11 fiscal years.  This dilemma comes after three consecutive years of budget cuts totaling $7 billion.  The Legislature will need to find a way to fill the gap when the 2010 legislative session begins in March unless Congress acts soon to extend the stimulus program.