Florida TaxWatch Emphasizes Value and Recommends Continuation of Florida’s Hospice Certificate of Need (CON) Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thurs., May 11, 2023
CONTACT: Aly Coleman Raschid, aly@on3pr.com, 850.391.5040
Florida TaxWatch Emphasizes Value and Recommends Continuation of Florida’s Hospice Certificate of Need (CON) Program
Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released Florida’s Certificate of Need Program Delivers High Quality Hospice Care, a report emphasizing the value and recommending the continuation of Florida’s hospice Certificate of Need (CON) program. The program, which is intended to increase statewide access to hospice care, allows for the addition of providers only if an area’s growth rate suggests there will be an unmet need – as determined by a population-based formula – for those services.
Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro said, “Florida TaxWatch maintains our position that Florida’s hospice Certificate of Need, or CON, program is in the best interests of terminally ill patients and their families, as well as hard-working taxpayers. It promotes proportional and manageable growth of hospice providers, ensuring they have a sufficient number of patients to sustain their businesses, and most importantly, that the state has the capacity to monitor the quality of the services they offer.
“With a rapidly increasing and aging population, the CON program also allows Florida to be intentional with its expansion of hospice care, making certain each addition will meet a demonstrated need. This avoids creating unnecessary competition among providers that may increase fraud and other unethical, or perhaps even illegal, practices that harm patients.
“While the Florida Legislature hasn’t considered repealing the hospice CON since 2019 – and lawmakers ultimately removed those provisions before passing House Bill 21 – evidence continues to suggest that this would limit access to hospice care in many areas of the state, especially rural and low-income areas, and also increase the cost of services in those areas. It’s crucial, for all Floridians, that this program be retained in statute moving forward.”
Building on a 2018 report, FTW notes that Florida’s 27 service areas are assessed twice a year through the hospice CON program. A service area is only granted a CON if the projected number of hospice patients for the upcoming year surpasses the total capacity of all existing programs by 350 or more. Then, providers may enter a competitive selection process to meet the need for care in that area.
According to FTW, Florida is one of 13 states and the District of Columbia that utilizes the CON program for the development of hospice care. As such, from 2010 to 2020, the state’s number of hospice providers grew by 9.3 percent, closely resembling its population growth (7.4 percent). However, despite the state having the second highest number of hospice patients nationwide – approximately 154,500 in 2021 – it ranks 30th in terms of the number of providers.
Still, FTW asserts Florida is equipped to serve a similar number of patients as larger states, as its providers are experienced and maintain high utilization rates. California, for instance, has nearly 22 times the number of hospice providers as Florida, but it only served less than one percent more patients than were served in Florida in 2021.
FTW also claims the quality of hospice care in Florida surpasses that demonstrated by other states, with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Hospice and Palliative Care Composite Process Measure ranking sixth and the Hospice Care Index Overall Score tied for third nationally.
Moreover, FTW cites that live discharge and long patient stays are common indicators of fraud, yet Florida’s live discharge rate is at the national average of 10 percent – still lower than larger states like California (16 percent) and Texas (12 percent). In 2021, the length of patient stays in Florida was 71 days, two days lower than the national average of 73.
For more information and to access the full report, please click here.
About Florida TaxWatch
As an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog and taxpayer research institute for more than forty years and the trusted eyes and ears of Florida taxpayers, Florida TaxWatch works to improve the productivity and accountability of Florida government. Its research recommends productivity enhancements and explains the statewide impact of fiscal and economic policies and practices on citizens and businesses. Florida TaxWatch is supported by its membership via voluntary, tax-deductible donations and private grants. Donations provide a solid, lasting foundation that has enabled Florida TaxWatch to bring about a more effective, responsive government that is more accountable to, and productive for, the citizens it serves since 1979. For more information, please visit www.floridataxwatch.org.
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