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EMPLOYER Summer 2001 • Vol. 1, No. 2 L o n g T e r m C a r e Slaying the Beast By Jacquelyn Horkan, Editor residents. Their assertions were weakened by ugh Lofting’s children’s novel, a lack of any evidence that all of their law- The Story of Dr. Doolittle, featured suits had achieved any improvement in the Hexotic creatures called pushmi- lives of nursing-home residents. pullyus, described thus: “They had two In fact, the evidence paints a contrast to the heads with sharp horns, one head at each abysmal picture of nursing-home abuse end of their body. bandied about by plaintiff lawyers. Florida To understand the dilemma facing the inspectors have a reputation as among the long-term-care industry, imagine an editorial toughest in the nation. The results tallied cartoon with a figure identified as “nursing from their reports show that Florida nursing homes” under siege by a herd of ravenous homes merit poor scores on such measure- pushmi-pullyus, each with one head labeled ments as food sanitation, care planning, “lawyers” and the other named “inadequate dignity, and assessments. On the other hand, What’s Inside reimbursement.” they rank among the best in the nation when The 2001 Legislature took aim at the it comes to quality of care, accident preven- Common Sense: strange herd by enacting SB 1200 and SB tion, pressure sores, and assistance with Unconventionalities 1202, which combine lawsuit reforms with activities of daily living. by Jon L. Shebel measures vital to improving the quality of Nonetheless, a disturbing trend has devel- care and increases in the Medicaid reim- oped: The number of violations for staffing Putting the Civil Back bursement rates. Both bills will help the shortages more than doubled between 1993 in Civil Service industry redirect money and resources away and 1999. At the same time, the population of by Jacquelyn Horkan from lawsuits and toward improving the nursing homes grew more frail and debili- quality of care provided to residents of long- tated, requiring higher levels of care. Thus, Unfinished Business term-care facilities. the need for more staffing came at the very by Jacquelyn Horkan Industry representatives began the session time that the facilities could not afford the by readily acquiescing to tougher regulation expense of adding personnel. Session Business in return for protection from the lawsuit Nursing home lawsuits are on the rise Report onslaught. The industry has also faced up to throughout the country, but the problem is by Curt Leonard its failures and embarked on a self-policing particularly grim in Florida. The depth of the program that will operate separately from problem is revealed by a few statistics. The Et Cetera the augmented state regulatory efforts. average size of a claim filed by a Florida by Jacquelyn Horkan Until the very end of the session, however, nursing home under its liability policy was trial lawyers and their allies were unwilling 250 percent higher than the rest of the country AIF’s Team of to make any compromise that might shut off in 1999. This state accounts for 10 percent of Lobbyists access to the nursing-home-litigation honey the nation’s nursing home beds and 40 pot. They justified their obstinacy with The Business at Hand professions of a selfless interest in protecting (Continued on page 4) A publication of ssociated Industries of Florida Service Corporation C o m m o n S e n s e funding of nursing homes will only increase in the future. Wasting that money on frivo- lous litigation and poor care translates di- rectly to a waste of your hard-earned dollars. Attacking the stresses on the nursing- home industry ensures that your tax dollars are put to their best use, in part, by opening the market for long-term-care policies. This Unconven- growing field of insurance provides individu- als with the means to pay for the services they tionalities will need when they grow old and frail. Transferring financing of long-term care away By Jon L. Shebel, Publisher from government and onto individuals will hat do judges, nursing homes, and rescue Florida and the nation from future state workers have to do with your budget shortfalls. It will also give individuals Wability to make a profit? The an- control over the long-term-care options they swer boils down to the accountability of prefer, rather than having those choices those who exercise the power we grant to dictated to them by government. government. The victories aside, 2001 produced a disturb- Florida’s judicial system — and, in fact, ing note. Until this session, the cumulative the entire nation’s — has grown inimical to voting percentages of Republicans and Demo- the independent functioning of the free crats in favor of AIF’s positions have typically market as a result of the left-wing bias of the been comparable, with the GOP usually more lords of the legal profession. The court pro-business. AIF’s records, however, show a reform bill enacted by the Legislature will 50-point differential between Republican and EMPLOYER help return accountability to those who serve Democratic pro-business scores for 2001. on the bench, without undermining judicial One reason for the unprecedented discrep- Published by Associated Industries independence. That’s good news for all ancy was the unconventional nature of the of Florida Service Florida businesses, who must live under the 2000 session. Gone was the profusion of less Corporation to inform interpretations of law handed down in controversial bills that typically saturate the readers about issues courtrooms across the state. legislative session and on which Republicans pertinent to Florida’s business community. The power of judges over your business is and Democrats tend to coalesce. Instead the © 2001. All rights less significant, however, than the influence emphasis was on a handful of major issues reserved. exerted daily by state bureaucrats. Florida’s that defined party differences. Those bills on PUBLISHER civil service system, which establishes which the Republican and Democratic cau- Jon L. Shebel personnel rules for state employees, is an cuses clashed were often the same high- ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER antiquated, creaky brute that shields incom- profile ones into which AIF poured enormous Stephen B. Trickey petent, inefficient, and insubordinate state resources and time. EDITOR workers, while doing nothing to reward As long as the Democratic leadership Jacquelyn Horkan those who work hard and pursue innovation. insists on opposing free-market solutions, the PUBLICATIONS Business people rely on the bureaucracy performance of rank-and-file caucus mem- SPECIALIST more than the average citizen, and bear a bers will continue to suffer. For the good of J. Gregory Vowell higher burden for tax dollars wasted on the state’s economy we hope they rethink EDITORIAL OFFICES inefficiency. That over-reliance on business their positions on the issues of concern to 516 North Adams St. ■ Post Office Box 784 for tax dollars also triggered AIF’s engage- Florida’s employers. Tallahassee, FL ment in the nursing-home industry crisis. 32302-0784 About 80 percent of the funding for nursing Jon L. Shebel is president and CEO of Assoc- Phone: (850) 224-7173 Fax: (850) 224-6532 homes derives from government revenues. iated Industries of Florida and affiliated E-mail: [email protected] Right now, the demand for government companies (e-mail: [email protected]). 2 Employer Advocate • Summer 2001 S e r v i c e F i r s t on any subject involved in a collective bargain- Created to exert ing impasse between government and union control over Putting the negotiators. The order was so broadly written society, govern- that it not only prohibited legislative action on Civil Back in Service First, it also made budget talks strictly mental agencies forbidden for 20 days. When the House and have a natural Senate leadership defied Judge Smith’s tram- incentive to Civil Service pling on the doctrine of separation of powers, expand their he ordered them to explain why he should not By Jacquelyn Horkan, Editor hold them in criminal contempt. The Florida authority. espite all the sound and fury, Gov. Supreme Court intervened and averted a Jeb Bush won passage SB 466, which constitutional crisis by ruling that Judge Smith Dwas based his package of reforms to had overstepped his jurisdiction. state government’s civil service system in During the last week of session, lawmakers a significant first step to improving the reached agreement on their version of the accountability of state employees. package and passed it into law on the final Created to exert control over society, day. While the final product is a slightly governmental agencies have a natural incen- weakened version of the original Service First tive to expand their authority. Holding them proposal, the legislation retains the most accountable for the use of power can be muscular provisions devised by the governor. difficult because the ship of state is so large It should provide relief to all businesses with and responsibility is so widely distributed. firsthand experience of the inefficiency and Gov. Bush’s changes to the state personnel frustration that marred the old system. system were designed to increase individual SB 466 accountability among state employees. Service First was the subject of a bitter battle Effective date: Upon becoming law between left-leaning labor unions, particularly House vote: 73-43 the American Federation of State, County and Senate vote: 23-15 Municipal Employees (AFSCME), that are still Final action: Signed into law May 14 fuming over George W. Bush’s presidential Jacquelyn Horkan is editor of Employer victory. While this issue may seem one of narrow Advocate and AIF‘s online magazine political interest, concerning only those few who Florida Business Insight actually receive a paycheck from the state of (http://flabusinessinsight.com).