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Ensuring Their Golden Years are Protected Florida has long been known as a destination for retiring seniors who desire a place to spend their golden years. This is nothing new. What is new is the approach Florida has taken in accommodating the highest number of elderly residents per capita of any state. Recent advancements like specialized health care and pharmaceutical programs, tax breaks and crime prevention geared towards senior Floridians are the result of a dedicated commitment to improving paradise for our elderly. Ensuring Quality Health Care
Nearly all seniors take some prescription drugs, so they are significantly impacted by prescription drug fraud and drug diversion. The legislature has addressed this crisis by working to ensure seniors have access to the very best in prescription drug quality. The “Florida Drug and Cosmetic Act” was enacted to impose stricter regulations on prescription drug wholesalers. Drug fraud and abuse is now confronted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which is empowered to conduct criminal investigations and make arrests. The growing industry of internet pharmacies provides the opportunity for dangerous counterfeit drugs to make their way to seniors, so we carefully monitor this new prescription access point. Advocating for the Elderly on Crime and Abuse I understand that seniors are a vital part of our state and its future, and vow to continue serving as their advocate on consumer issues, abuse and identity theft. Identity theft is a crime to which seniors are particularly vulnerable, so we must continue to crack down on those who prey on older Floridians. In addition to the numerous reforms enacted to better protect Floridians from a wide range of crimes, a specialized statute for victims of theft who are 65 years of age or older was created to reduce by nearly half the amount of funds, assets, or property stolen required to sentence an offender with a felony. Lastly, I believe the Legislature should work to make seniors more comfortable in retirement. One example is the recently passed initiative that (if approved by voters in the 2006 general election) will increase the amount of homestead tax exemption for low-income seniors from $25,000 to $50,000. Another is the final repeal of the intangibles tax, an effort that I have supported for years, resulting in the elimination of a double tax on retirement savings. I will continue to be committed to our seniors, ensuring that Florida continues to build on past accomplishments in legislative sessions to come. The needs of seniors will remain at the forefront of my agenda, and I look forward to continually improving elder care and quality of life. Report Card
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The Legislature took historic steps over the past decade to ensure Florida's seniors receive the best quality of health care by allocating millions of dollars in funding to increase the quality of long-term care, such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and by assisting those facing rising prescription drug costs. Because not all elderly Floridians needing assistance require expensive, institutionalized long-term care, a moratorium on the construction of new nursing homes was enacted to shift funds to community-based care. A new focus on assisted living facilities and the creation of a nursing home diversion program has enabled elderly patients who don't require 24-hour supervision to spend their twilight years in their own homes and their communities. Additionally, a minimum staffing standard for nursing homes, considered to be among the highest in the nation, requires an average of 2.9 hours of direct patient care for each nursing home patient every day. Increased training and disease awareness for employees of nursing homes, home health agencies, hospices and adult day care facilities has also been a focus of vital reforms for seniors.
