| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Veterans' Nursing Home of Florida |
| 3 | Act; amending s. 296.36, F.S.; authorizing the director of |
| 4 | the Department of Veterans' Affairs to waive the residency |
| 5 | requirement for admittance to a veterans' nursing home |
| 6 | under certain circumstances; providing an effective date. |
| 7 |
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| 8 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Section 1. Section 296.36, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 11 | read: |
| 12 | 296.36 Eligibility and priority of admittance.-- |
| 13 | (1) To be eligible for admittance to the home, the person |
| 14 | must be a veteran as defined in s. 1.01(14) and must: |
| 15 | (a) Be in need of nursing home care. |
| 16 | (b) Have been a resident of the state for 1 year |
| 17 | immediately preceding, and at the time of application for, |
| 18 | admission to the home. |
| 19 | (c) Not owe money to the department for services rendered |
| 20 | during any previous stay at a department facility. |
| 21 | (d) Have applied for all financial assistance reasonably |
| 22 | available through governmental sources. |
| 23 | (2) The director may waive the residency requirement for a |
| 24 | veteran who is otherwise eligible under Florida law for |
| 25 | admittance to a home. The waiver must be limited to a veteran |
| 26 | who is a disaster evacuee of a state that is under a declared |
| 27 | state of emergency. |
| 28 | (3)(2) Admittance priority must be given to eligible |
| 29 | veterans afforded in the following order of priority to an |
| 30 | eligible veteran who is in need of nursing home care and who: |
| 31 | (a) An eligible veteran who is a resident of the State of |
| 32 | Florida. |
| 33 | (b)(a) An eligible veteran who has a service-connected |
| 34 | disability as determined by the United States Department of |
| 35 | Veterans Affairs, or was discharged or released from military |
| 36 | service for disability incurred or aggravated in the line of |
| 37 | duty and the disability is the condition for which nursing home |
| 38 | care is needed. |
| 39 | (c)(b) An eligible veteran who has a non-service-connected |
| 40 | disability and is unable to defray the expense of nursing home |
| 41 | care and so states under oath before a notary public or other |
| 42 | officer authorized to administer an oath. |
| 43 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |