The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has initiated rulemaking to implement HB 1353 (Chapter 2025-127, Laws of Florida) — landmark legislation championed by HCAF and signed into law earlier this year to modernize and streamline Florida’s home health agency regulations.

The proposed rule development spans multiple sections of Chapter 59A-8, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), including:

• Scope of Services (Rule 59A-8.008): Strikes the “direct employee” requirement, allowing agencies to use qualified contracted clinicians to conduct admission, evaluation, and discharge visits. This flexibility is intended to ease staffing shortages and reduce referral rejections.
• Administrator Oversight (Rule 59A-8.0095): Revises language so that geographic boundary restrictions apply only to alternate administrators, while eliminating the restriction for administrators themselves. This correction increases flexibility while still maintaining oversight safeguards.
• Personnel & Training Requirements (Rule 59A-8.002, 59A-8.0095): Updates terminology and requirements for staff qualifications and training.
• Excellence in Home Health Program (Rule 59A-8.0248): Modernizes criteria for the state’s recognition program so that it is more inclusive of all agency types and payer mixes.

A public workshop on Rules 59A-8.002, 59A-8.008, and 59A-8.0095 was noticed for August 21, 2025. However, workshops under this process are only held if requested by stakeholders. Because no requests were submitted — given the lack of significant concerns with the preliminary draft text (e.g., striking the “direct employee” requirement and correcting administrator oversight rules) — the workshop will not take place, and that portion of the rulemaking is moving forward without one.

Excellence in Home Health Program Rulemaking (59A-8.0248)

By contrast, for the Excellence in Home Health Program, HCAF has requested a workshop because the criteria for the award must be structured differently for skilled providers and non-skilled/non-medical providers — regardless of payer source, patient/client population, or business model.

Established in 2020 through HB 607, the program was designed to recognize high-performing agencies based on quality of care, patient satisfaction, and workforce stability. However, no agency has ever received the award due to rigid and inaccessible criteria. HB 1353 reforms the program to better reflect the diversity of Florida’s home health sector and make the award more attainable.

The requested workshop will take place on Thursday, September 4, 2025, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET. Stakeholders may attend in person at AHCA headquarters (2727 Mahan Drive, Building 3, Conference Room B, Tallahassee, FL 32308) or virtually by dialing (888) 585-9008 and entering conference room number 998-518-088#.

To prepare, HCAF will circulate a member survey to identify which criteria are reasonable to collect (e.g., available through EMRs) versus those that would create unnecessary burdens. HCAF staff will present this input at the workshop on behalf of members, but we strongly encourage providers to attend and participate directly.

Why It Matters

These are the most significant regulatory updates for Florida home health agencies in years. HB 1353 — sponsored by Representative Gallop Franklin (D-Tallahassee) and Senator Alexis Calatayud (R-Miami) — aims to reduce administrative burden, modernize oversight, and expand workforce flexibility. AHCA’s rulemaking will determine how these reforms are implemented in practice, including how agencies will be recognized under the Excellence in Home Health Program.

Get Involved

HCAF urges members to:

• Submit comments directly to AHCA at HQARuleComments@ahca.myflorida.com.
• Share feedback with HCAF so we can present it on your behalf.
• Watch for HCAF’s upcoming survey on award criteria.
• Attend the workshops (in person or virtually) to make your voice heard.