On August 15, 2023, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule (NPR) in the Florida Administrative Code (Volume 49, Number 158). This rule focuses on Chapter 59A-18 regulations, which outline the prerequisites that certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and home health aides must meet to provide health care services within patients' homes or places of residence when they are contracted through a licensed nurse registry. The proposal would prohibit CNAs and home health aides from administering medications through a nurse registry contract, a practice that is allowed in the home health setting.

In the 2020 Florida Legislative Session, HCAF advocated for legislation (HB 607) that successfully introduced nurse delegation within home health to help mitigate the continuing shortage of health care professionals. Following this achievement, in 2022, the Florida Legislature passed HB 469. This expansion of HB 607 further empowered CNAs and home health aides, extending their authorized responsibilities to tasks similar to those carried out in assisted living facilities. Although the process of establishing rules for nurse delegation via nurse registries is still underway, AHCA completed the adoption of home health rules on May 2, 2023.

With the announcement of the NPR, a 21-day period begins for public and stakeholder comments on the full text of the proposed rule, which can be found here. Those wishing to provide feedback can either submit their comments electronically here by September 5, 2023, or via email to John Rainey, Laboratory and In-Home Services, via email at John.Rainey@ahca.myflorida.com.

Once the comment period concludes, AHCA has scheduled a hearing to discuss the proposed rule on Thursday, September 14, at 2:00 PM ET. The location for the hearing is AHCA's headquarters at 2727 Mahan Drive, Building 3, Conference Room C, Tallahassee, FL 32308. Interested parties can also participate remotely by dialing the Open Voice conference line, (888) 585-9008, followed by the conference room number and pound sign: 998-518-088#. The agenda and materials related to the hearing can be accessed on the AHCA website here.

This public hearing is the final opportunity to comment on the proposed rule. Comments can be submitted orally during the hearing or through written submissions, either online, via email, or directly at the hearing itself.