With just nine days remaining in the 2025 Florida Legislative Session, HCAF is proud to report a monumental win for Florida’s home care provider community. Senate Bill 1412, the companion to House Bill 1353, which passed the House unanimously last week, received final legislative approval today with a unanimous 37-0 vote in the Florida Senate.

Because the House had already approved its version of the bill, Senator Alexis Calatayud (R-Miami) made a strategic decision to substitute the Senate version with the House-passed bill (HB 1353) in order to expedite the legislative process. With the Senate’s unanimous approval of HB 1353 today, the legislation now heads to Governor Ron DeSantis for final consideration. Upon his signature, the bill will become law and take effect on July 1, 2025.

What This Means for Home Health Agencies

This bipartisan legislation updates outdated regulations and addresses persistent challenges facing home health providers. It is designed to increase operational efficiency, lower costs, and alleviate workforce constraints, helping agencies expand services and improve care delivery across Florida. Highlights include:

• Streamlining Administration Across Locations: The bill allows one administrator to oversee multiple home health agencies under the same ownership, regardless of location. This modernizes current restrictions, reducing overhead and expanding administrative capacity, especially in rural and underserved areas where leadership talent is often spread thin.
• Expanding Workforce Flexibility: It eliminates the requirement that admission, evaluation, and discharge visits be conducted exclusively by direct employees. By authorizing qualified contracted professionals, this change helps providers respond to staffing shortages, improve care continuity, and admit patients more quickly — even after hours or during periods of high demand.
• Revamping the Excellence in Home Health Program: The program will be modernized to recognize all provider types, including Medicaid and private pay providers, with the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) establishing metrics tailored to each provider’s payer mix and specialty. Notably, no agency has received this award since its 2023 inception, highlighting that the current application and review process is overly burdensome. Improvements during the upcoming rulemaking phase will make the program more accessible, inclusive, and meaningful.

Click here to read a full analysis of the legislation.

Recognizing Our Legislative Champions

On behalf of Florida’s home care industry, HCAF extends sincere appreciation to Senator Alexis Calatayud (R-Miami) and Representative Gallop Franklin (D-Tallahassee) for their bipartisan leadership and tireless advocacy. Their efforts reflect a shared, forward-thinking vision for expanding and enhancing home-based care.

Senator Calatayud guided SB 1412 through three Senate committees — Health Policy (10-0), Appropriations on Health & Human Services (8-0), and Rules (22-0) — with unanimous approval at every stage, culminating in today’s 37-0 Senate floor vote.

Representative Franklin secured House passage of HB 1353 with a unanimous 115-0 vote, following 100% approval in both the Health Care Facilities & Systems Subcommittee (17-0) and the Health & Human Services Committee (25-0).

Why This Matters

This legislative success is rare — especially in a session where more than half of all bills have failed to advance. Both of HCAF’s top priorities this year, including the Family Home Health Aide program modernization, have moved forward with unanimous bipartisan support. This is a testament to the power of advocacy and the engagement of our members statewide.

We extend our deepest thanks to the HCAF members who joined us in Tallahassee for Home Care Day at the Capitol earlier this session to advocate directly with lawmakers. Your stories and presence made a lasting impression. We also thank the more than 100 advocates who used our Legislative Action Center to contact their lawmakers in support of this legislation. Your voices made a difference.

HCAF’s policy team could not have achieved this victory without your dedication, action, and commitment to strengthening Florida’s home care system.

Next Steps: Governor’s Signature & Member Action

SB 1412 is now on its way to the Governor’s desk. Once signed into law, HCAF will begin working with AHCA on the rulemaking process and provide members with clear guidance for implementation.

In the meantime, we invite you to continue supporting our advocacy efforts by making a contribution to the Home Care Political Action Committee (PAC). Your support plays a vital role in helping elect lawmakers who prioritize access to in-home care, sustainable funding, and meaningful regulatory reform. Together, we can ensure Florida’s home care community has a strong, united voice in the policymaking process. Click here to contribute.