Long Term Care and Nursing Home Facts for Florida

Interesting Facts About Long Term Care In Florida

Florida nursing homes are serving increasingly diverse patient base and providing a greater variety of acute care, rehabilitative and convalescent services that cannot be delivered elsewhere.

Key Facts

  • There are 683 licensed nursing homes in Florida, representing approximately 83,587 beds (Souce: Agency for Health Care Administration)
  • The estimated number of residents is 73,000 (roughly 85% occupancy at any given time)
  • There are 3,089 licensed ALFs in Florida, representing approximately 92,000 beds. (Souce: Agency for Health Care Administration)
  • The median annual cost of care for a private room in a Florida nursing center is $94,900*
  • The median annual cost for care for a private room in a Florida assisted living facility is $37,200.*
  • Nearly 40 percent of long term care spending is paid for by private funds.
  • Medicare, which covers rehabilitation services after an individual is discharged from a hospital, pays for 19 percent of all long term care spending.
  • Medicaid, which covers health care costs for low-income individuals, pays for approximately 60 percent of all long-term care spending.
  • Accounting for about 40 percent of total expenditures on nursing centers, Medicaid’s payments cover the care of more than half of all nursing home residents.
  • Medicare patients have short rehabilitative stays – 33 days average
  • Medicaid and private pay patients have long lengths of stay – 386 days average
  • Florida has one of the lowest over-65 population to nursing home population ratio in the country

Quality Trends

  • Kaiser Family Foundation Report: Florida is a Leader in Nursing Home Staffing
  • Florida centers staff Above the National Average – 4.6 hours per patient per day
  • Florida nursing centers rank 8th in total reported Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) hours per patient per day
  • Florida nursing centers rank 12th for total reported Nurse staffing hours per patient per day
  • Since 2001, staffing in Florida nursing centers has increased from 1.6 to 2.6 CNA-to-Resident hours per day

According to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration…

Economic Role of Long Term Care Facilities in Florida

  • Support an estimated $20.2 billion (2.7%) of Florida’s economy
  • Contribute to nearly 259,250 jobs and support $9.1 billion in labor income through employment of both direct caregivers and support staff (i.e, food service, maintenance, social workers)
  • Generate over $2.3 million in state and federal tax revenue
  • Long term care centers contribute to other businesses through a ripple effect, with each nursing home job resulting in two additional jobs or nearly $5 of added economic activity within a local community.

Future Needs for Long Term Care

  • 2017 Profile of Older Americans, Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging (April 2018)
  • By 2026, the population of Americans ages 65 and older will double to 71.5 million.
  • Between 2007 and 2015, the number of Americans ages 85 and older is expected to increase by 40 percent.
  • Among people turning 65 today, 69 percent will need some form of long-term care, whether in the community or in a residential care facility.
  • By 2020, 12 million older Americans will need long term health care. (HIAA, “A Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance”, 2002)

Above information provided by the Florida Healthcare Association.

Randy Coleman

Randy Coleman is a member of The Florida Bar for over 30 years. He was a practicing CPA for six years prior to becoming a lawyer. His practice is limited to estate and asset protection planning, wills & trusts, elder law, probate and trust administration. He is peer review rated Preeminent, for the highest legal ability and ethical standards for over 30 consecutive years by Martindale-Hubbell, the gold standard in attorney ratings for over a century. Mr. Coleman is an honors graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, and the University of Florida Warrington College of Business (Accounting/Economics).