Facts About Long-Term Care in Florida

Florida nursing homes serve an increasingly diverse patient base and provide a variety of acute and rehabilitative care and convalescent services that cannot be delivered elsewhere.

Key Facts

  • There are 698 licensed nursing homes in Florida, representing approximately 84,448 beds (source: Agency for Health Care Administration, https://www.floridahealthfinder.gov/facilitylocator/facloc.aspx).
  • The estimated number of residents is 71,000 (roughly 85 percent occupancy at any given time).
  • There are 3,080 licensed assisted living facilities in Florida, representing approximately 106,103 beds (source: Agency for Health Care Administration, https://www.floridahealthfinder.gov/facilitylocator/facloc.aspx).
  • The median annual cost of care for a private room in a nursing center is $100,375; $89,297 for a semi-private room (Genworth Cost of Care Survey, https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care.html).
  • The median annual cost for a private room in an assisted living facility is $48,000 (Genworth Cost of Care Survey, https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care.html).
  • Medicaid, which covers health care costs for low-income individuals, pays for approximately 60 percent of all skilled nursing facility spending.
  • Medicare, which covers rehabilitation services after an individual is discharged from a hospital, pays for 19 percent of all skilled nursing facility spending.
  • Accounting for about 40 percent of total expenditures on nursing centers, Medicaid’s payments cover the care of more than half of all nursing home residents.
  • Medicare patients have short rehabilitative stays – 33 days average.
  • Medicaid and private pay patients have long lengths of stay – 386 days average.
  • Florida has one of the lowest over-65 population-to-nursing home population ratios in the country.

Quality Trends

  • Skilled Nursing Facility Quality in Florida and the United States: Trends and Current Status (February 2019) http://eldercareflorida.com/elder-care/quality-care-report/
  • Kaiser Family Foundation Report: Florida is a Leader in Nursing Home Staffing (April 2018) https://ahca.myflorida.com/Executive/Communications/Press_Releases/pdf/NurseStaffing4202018.pdf
  • Florida ranks #1 for nurse staffing rates among the nation’s 10 most populous states, and 9th overall.
  • Florida’s long-term care centers require the nation’s highest level of direct-care hours (3.6) per resident per day — well above the national median of 2.5.
  • Florida consistently ranks strongly in both current data and improvements. Looking at the four national rating and award indicators used by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to assess states’ overall quality care performance, Florida leapt from 16th in the nation in 2014 into the Top Ten (7th) by 2018.

According to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration…

Since the end of 2011, the use of antipsychotic drugs in Florida has fallen by nearly 10 percent. According to federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Florida has not only moved ahead of the national average overall, but also experienced one of the biggest declines in the use of these medications in the country. (March 23, 2018)

Since 2011, Florida nursing homes have shown strong results and/or improvement in a host of quality measures, including those related to infections, falls, pressure ulcers, wandering, physical restraints, and the use of antipsychotic medicines. (March 12, 2018)

Economic Role of Long-Term Care Facilities in Florida

  • Support an estimated $27.07 billion of Florida’s economy https://www.ahcancal.org/Advocacy/State%20Data/FL_Economic%20Impact%20of%20LTC%202020.pdf
  • Contribute to nearly 286,149 jobs (direct, indirect, and induced) and support $10.43 billion in labor income through employment of both direct caregivers and support staff (i.e., food service, maintenance, social workers)
  • Generate more than $3.62 billion in state and federal tax revenue
  • Contribute to other businesses through a ripple effect, with each nursing home job resulting in two additional jobs or nearly $5 of added economic activity within a local community

Future Needs for Long-Term Care

  • Florida Department of Elder Affairs Demographic Profiles & Statistics, https://elderaffairs.org/
  • Persons age 65 and older currently make up about 20 percent of Florida’s population.
  • By 2030, more than one in four Floridians will be part of this age group.
  • Florida is set to add a quarter-million residents each year through 2030, and the majority— 57 percent — will be age 60 and older.
  • Between 2015 and 2050, the over-85 population is projected to more than triple.

Reports & Publications

FHCA 60 Years of Caring Report, https://www.fhca.org/images/uploads/FHCA_60_Years_Report_FNL.pdf

(source: FHCA.org)

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