Florida Medicaid, a division of the Agency for Health Care Administration, recently announced that it will be reinstating certain requirements for skilled nursing homes (SNFs), effective July 1, 2021.

According to a recent alert issued by the agency, Florida will end some of the flexibilities that it offered to nursing home facilities at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, including:

• Preadmission Screening and Resident Review Requirements (PASRR): Postponed since March 2020 by Florida Medicaid, PASRR will be reinstated on July 1, 2021. Any retroactively performed screenings and reviews must document the reasons for delays in the completion of PASRR requirements.
• Bed Hold Requirements and Evaluations: Florida Medicaid will require SNFs to resume having a 95% occupancy rate to be reimbursed for bed hold days, and will begin evaluating skilled nursing facilities again based on the 95% occupancy rate 90 days after the requirements take effect.
• Medicaid-Certified Beds: Medicaid recipients must occupy Medicaid-certified beds at SNFs (unless the recipients are covered by Medicare Part B, in which case, Medicare-certified beds are allowable).

For more information, contact the Florida Medicaid Helpline toll free at (877) 254-1055.