By Jim Saunders 2022 The News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Three healthcare groups this week challenged how the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration is carrying out a requirement that “direct care” workers get paid a minimum of $15 an hour.
The Florida Assisted Living Association, the Florida Ambulance Association and the Home Care Association of Florida filed the challenges at the state Division of Administrative Hearings. The same groups in late September filed a lawsuit in Leon County circuit court to try to block part of this year’s state budget that could open Medicaid providers to litigation if they don’t pay the $15 minimum wage.
The disputes involve budget fine print that directed money to the Agency for Health Care Administration to adjust reimbursement rates so Medicaid providers would pay at least $15 an hour to direct-care employees. Also, the budget said employees could file civil lawsuits against providers that do not pay $15 an hour, including possibly class-action lawsuits.
The three nearly identical challenges filed this week at the Division of Administrative Hearings contend that the agency, which runs much of the Medicaid program, did not use a proper rule-making process to define “direct care” workers who would be affected by the minimum wage. As a result, they argue the agency is using “invalid, unadopted rules” and should be ordered to stop relying on them.
The budget did not provide a definition of direct-care workers, and William Dean...
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