Florida Nursing Home Residents Win Suit Against the State

A class action lawsuit brought in 2008 on behalf of 8,500 Floridians by AARP Foundation, the Southern Legal Counsel, and National Health Law Program and others, said the state illegally forced residents to live in nursing homes instead of their communities, has been settled with the state agreeing to spend up to $27 million to resolve the lawsuit. The agreement calls for the improvements to be made during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. A federal court will monitor the settlement that requires the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Elder Affairs to improve the way they inform Medicaid nursing home residents about making the transition from nursing homes to community-based programs.