Florida

The grounds, as Florida describes them

Section 400.022(1)(p), Florida Statutes (leg.state.fl.us, history ending s. 1, ch. 2023-307, retrieved 2026-09-05), states the resident's right in full:

"The right to be transferred or discharged only for medical reasons or for the welfare of other residents, and the right to be given reasonable advance notice of no less than 30 days of any involuntary transfer or discharge, except in the case of an emergency as determined by a licensed professional on the staff of the nursing home, or in the case of conflicting rules and regulations which govern Title XVIII or Title XIX of the Social Security Act. For nonpayment of a bill for care received, the resident shall be given 30 days’ advance notice. A licensee certified to provide services under Title XIX of the Social Security Act may not transfer or discharge a resident solely because the source of payment for care changes. Admission to a nursing home facility operated by a licensee certified to provide services under Title XIX of the Social Security Act may not be conditioned upon a waiver of such right, and any document or provision in a document which purports to waive or preclude such right is void and unenforceable. Any licensee certified to provide services under Title XIX of the Social Security Act that obtains or attempts to obtain such a waiver from a resident or potential resident shall be construed to have violated the resident’s rights as established herein and is subject to disciplinary action as provided in subsection (3). The resident and the family or representative of the resident shall be consulted in choosing another facility."

This states Florida's grounds in the state's own words as three categories — medical reasons, the welfare of other residents, and nonpayment of a bill — rather than as an enumerated list in the style of Ohio's or Texas's statutes. Section 400.0255 itself does not enumerate a separate list: it directs the agency's standard notice form to "specify the reason allowed under federal or state law that the resident is being discharged or transferred, with an explanation to support this action" (s. 400.0255(8)), pointing back to whichever law — state or federal — actually applies, rather than restating either.

Two further statements bound who this procedure reaches. Section 400.0255(5): "A resident of any Medicaid or Medicare certified facility may challenge a decision by the facility to discharge or transfer the resident." And section 400.0255(17) states a scope limit that applies to everything else on this page: "The provisions of this section apply to transfers or discharges that are initiated by the nursing home facility, and not by the resident or by the resident’s physician or legal guardian or representative."

The Department of Elder Affairs' own ombudsman-program page restates the same right in its own words: "Be transferred or discharged only for medical reasons, the welfare of other residents or nonpayment of a bill." The same page separately states, under its own heading, that "federal law prevents nursing homes from discharging (removing) or transferring (moving to another facility) a resident except for the following reasons":

"The resident’s welfare cannot be met at the facility."

"The resident’s health has improved sufficiently so the resident no longer needs the services provided by the facility."

"The health or safety of individuals is endangered."

"The resident has failed, after reasonable and appropriate notice, to pay or have paid under Medicare or Medicaid for residence at the facility."

"The facility closes."

This is Florida's own agency stating federal grounds in its own words on its own page — not the federal enumeration borrowed onto this page from the federal page — and it groups and words the categories differently from both 400.022(1)(p)'s own three categories and from the federal regulation's own enumeration quoted on the federal page. All three texts are quoted from their own publishers; none is reconciled with another here.

The published process

Requesting the hearing

Section 400.0255(10)(a): "A resident is entitled to a fair hearing to challenge a facility’s proposed transfer or discharge. The resident, or the resident’s legal representative or designee, may request a hearing at any time within 90 days after the resident’s receipt of the facility’s notice of the proposed discharge or transfer." The pendency statement is at (10)(b): "If a resident requests a hearing within 10 days after receiving the notice from the facility, the request shall stay the proposed transfer or discharge pending a hearing decision. The facility may not take action, and the resident may remain in the facility, until the outcome of the initial fair hearing, which must be completed within 90 days after receipt of a request for a fair hearing." Absent a timely request, (10)(c): "If the resident fails to request a hearing within 10 days after receipt of the facility notice of the proposed discharge or transfer, the facility may transfer or discharge the resident after 30 days from the date the resident received the notice."

Section 400.0255(15)(a): "The department’s Office of Appeals Hearings shall conduct hearings under this section. The office shall notify the facility of a resident’s request for a hearing." Subsection (15)(b) directs how: "The department shall, by rule, establish procedures to be used for fair hearings requested by residents. These procedures shall be equivalent to the procedures used for fair hearings for other Medicaid cases, chapter 10-2, part VI, Florida Administrative Code. The burden of proof must be clear and convincing evidence. A hearing decision must be rendered within 90 days after receipt of the request for hearing."

Chapter 10-2 is chapter 65-2 under its current numbering — each of its rules carries its own History line reading, for example, "Formerly 10-2.46, 10-2.046" (rule 65-2.046) — captured in full at flrules.org, most sections effective April 2, 2018, retrieved 2026-09-05. The current chapter carries no "Part" divisions of its own, so this page cannot confirm which of its rules made up "Part VI" specifically; that identification is not made here. The chapter states, at 65-2.042(3): "Hearing officer shall mean the individual presiding over the hearing. The hearings will be conducted by a hearing officer from the Office of Appeal Hearings, which is within the Office of Inspector General." — the same office the statute names. Its general pendency default, at 65-2.048(1): "In all programs other than the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a hearing request filed within ten (10) days after the date of mailing or hand delivery of the notice either orally or written, requires that assistance be continued at the current level until the final written decision of the hearings officer is rendered; unless, a change affecting the appellant’s grant occurs while the hearing decision is pending and the recipient fails to request a hearing after notice of the change." — consistent with the statute's own ten-day pendency trigger. At 65-2.049(1): "Any hearing request, submitted to the Department, written or oral, must be sent by the Department to the Office of Appeal Hearings within three (3) working days, excluding holidays and weekends, along with a statement of the matters asserted by the Department and a copy of the Notice of Case Action when such Notice exists." And at 65-2.066(5): "The Final Order shall be rendered within 90 days of request for all programs except Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), in which case it shall be rendered in 60 days." — consistent with the statute's own ninety-day decision deadlines.

No street address, form, or portal for filing the hearing request itself is stated in the statute, in chapter 65-2, or on either agency's own page: chapter 65-2 states only that "Any hearing request, submitted to the Department, written or oral, must be sent by the Department to the Office of Appeal Hearings within three (3) working days" (65-2.049(1), quoted in full above), with no address of its own for where a request first reaches "the Department." The two different addresses the department's own pages publish for the Office of Appeals Hearings are quoted in the docket and stand as published, discrepancy unreconciled.

After a request is made, section 400.0255(12): "After receipt of any notice required under this section, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or local ombudsman council may request a private informal conversation with a resident to whom the notice is directed, and, if known, a family member or the resident’s legal guardian or designee, to ensure that the facility is proceeding with the discharge or transfer in accordance with this section. If requested, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or the local ombudsman council shall assist the resident with filing an appeal of the proposed discharge or transfer." Section 400.0255(13) states who must attend: "The following persons must be present at all hearings authorized under this section: (a) The resident, or the resident’s legal representative or designee. (b) The facility administrator, or the facility’s legal representative or designee. A representative of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or the local long-term care ombudsman council may be present at all hearings authorized by this section."

On the outcome, section 400.0255(15)(d): "The decision of the hearing officer shall be final. Any aggrieved party may appeal the decision to the district court of appeal in the appellate district where the facility is located. Review procedures shall be conducted in accordance with the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure."

The notice's required contents

Section 400.0255(8) states the contents in full: "The notice required by subsection (7) must be in writing and must contain all information required by state and federal law, rules, or regulations applicable to Medicaid or Medicare cases. The agency shall develop a standard document to be used by all facilities licensed under this part for purposes of notifying residents of a discharge or transfer. Such document must include a means for a resident to request the local long-term care ombudsman council to review the notice and request information about or assistance with initiating a fair hearing with the department’s Office of Appeals Hearings. In addition to any other pertinent information included, the form shall specify the reason allowed under federal or state law that the resident is being discharged or transferred, with an explanation to support this action. Further, the form must state the effective date of the discharge or transfer and the location to which the resident is being discharged or transferred. The form must clearly describe the resident’s appeal rights and the procedures for filing an appeal, including the right to request the local ombudsman council review the notice of discharge or transfer. A copy of the notice must be placed in the resident’s clinical record, and a copy must be transmitted to the resident’s legal guardian or representative and to the local ombudsman council within 5 business days after signature by the resident or resident designee."

The 30-day advance-notice requirement and its two exceptions, section 400.0255(7): "At least 30 days prior to any proposed transfer or discharge, a facility must provide advance notice of the proposed transfer or discharge to the resident and, if known, to a family member or the resident’s legal guardian or representative, except, in the following circumstances, the facility shall give notice as soon as practicable before the transfer or discharge: (a) The transfer or discharge is necessary for the resident’s welfare and the resident’s needs cannot be met in the facility, and the circumstances are documented in the resident’s medical records by the resident’s physician; or (b) The health or safety of other residents or facility employees would be endangered, and the circumstances are documented in the resident’s medical records by the resident’s physician or the medical director if the resident’s physician is not available."

Who must sign it, section 400.0255(3): "When a discharge or transfer is initiated by the nursing home, the nursing home administrator employed by the nursing home that is discharging or transferring the resident, or an individual employed by the nursing home who is designated by the nursing home administrator to act on behalf of the administration, must sign the notice of discharge or transfer. Any notice indicating a medical reason for transfer or discharge must either be signed by the resident’s attending physician or the medical director of the facility, or include an attached written order for the discharge or transfer. The notice or the order must be signed by the resident’s physician, medical director, treating physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant."

The notice also opens a distinct ombudsman-review path, section 400.0255(9): "A resident may request that the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or local ombudsman council review any notice of discharge or transfer given to the resident. When requested by a resident to review a notice of discharge or transfer, the local ombudsman council shall do so within 7 days after receipt of the request. The nursing home administrator, or the administrator’s designee, must forward the request for review contained in the notice to the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or local ombudsman council within 24 hours after such request is submitted. Failure to forward the request within 24 hours after the request is submitted shall toll the running of the 30-day advance notice period until the request has been forwarded."

An emergency discharge or transfer follows a different notice mechanic, section 400.0255(11): "Notwithstanding paragraph (10)(b), an emergency discharge or transfer may be implemented as necessary pursuant to state or federal law during the time after the notice is given and before the time a hearing decision is rendered. Notice of an emergency discharge or transfer to the resident, the resident’s legal guardian or representative, and the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or the local ombudsman council if requested pursuant to subsection (9) must be by telephone or in person. This notice shall be given before the transfer, if possible, or as soon thereafter as practicable. The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or a local ombudsman council conducting a review under this subsection shall do so within 24 hours after receipt of the request. The resident’s file must be documented to show who was contacted, whether the contact was by telephone or in person, and the date and time of the contact. If the notice is not given in writing, written notice meeting the requirements of subsection (8) must be given the next working day."

Bed-hold and return

Section 400.022(1)(u), Florida Statutes, states the licensure right in full: "The right to be informed of the bed reservation policy for a hospitalization. The nursing home shall inform a private-pay resident and his or her responsible party that his or her bed will be reserved for any single hospitalization for a period up to 30 days provided the nursing home receives reimbursement. Any resident who is a recipient of assistance under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, or the resident’s designee or legal representative, shall be informed by the licensee that his or her bed will be reserved for any single hospitalization for the length of time for which Title XIX reimbursement is available, up to 15 days; but that the bed will not be reserved if it is medically determined by the agency that the resident will not need it or will not be able to return to the nursing home, or if the agency determines that the nursing home’s occupancy rate ensures the availability of a bed for the resident. Notice shall be provided within 24 hours of the hospitalization." Section 400.0255(6) states the consequence of a facility's own refusal to honor a reservation it was paid for, without itself naming a day count: "A facility that has been reimbursed for reserving a bed and, for reasons other than those permitted under this section, refuses to readmit a resident within the prescribed timeframe shall refund the bed reservation payment."

The Agency for Health Care Administration's Medicaid Nursing Facility Services Coverage Policy, Rule 59G-4.200, F.A.C. (May 2016), states the Medicaid program's own reimbursement limit for the "prescribed timeframe" 400.0255(6) refers to. Its own definition, section 1.3.5: "When a recipient leaves the facility overnight for hospitalization or therapeutic leave." Its own limit, section 4.2.1, "Leave Days": "Florida Medicaid reimburses for leave days when the recipient is expected to return to the facility, as follows:" "Hospitalization – 8 days per medically necessary hospital stay" and "Therapeutic leave – 16 days per state fiscal year Providers must notify recipients and their representatives of the leave policy in writing upon admission and upon a recipient leaving the facility on hospital or therapeutic leave."

AHCA's own 8-day Medicaid reimbursement limit is a different number from 400.022(1)(u)'s own statement that a Title XIX resident's bed "will be reserved for any single hospitalization for the length of time for which Title XIX reimbursement is available, up to 15 days". Both are quoted here as published by their own publishers — the Legislature in the licensure statute, the agency in its Medicaid coverage policy — and are not reconciled.

On return, a favorable hearing decision carries its own readmission right, section 400.0255(15)(c): "If the hearing decision is favorable to the resident who has been transferred or discharged, the resident must be readmitted to the facility’s first available bed."

The three rows above hoist the questions a facility's counsel answers in the first fifteen minutes. They are quotations from Florida's published sources, not a determination that any of them applies to any situation.

Notice periods and deadlines, as stated in the sources

All quoted; none calculated.

Thirty days' advance notice — s. 400.0255(7), quoted in full above; two exceptions permit notice "as soon as practicable" instead.

Thirty days' advance notice for nonpayment — s. 400.022(1)(p): "For nonpayment of a bill for care received, the resident shall be given 30 days’ advance notice."

Five business days to transmit the signed notice to the legal guardian and the local ombudsman council — s. 400.0255(8), quoted in full above.

Seven days for local ombudsman council review of a notice, on request — s. 400.0255(9), quoted in full above.

Twenty-four hours for the administrator to forward an ombudsman-review request, with the 30-day notice period tolled until forwarded — s. 400.0255(9), quoted in full above.

Ninety days to request a fair hearing — s. 400.0255(10)(a), quoted in full above.

Ten days for a hearing request to stay the transfer or discharge pending the hearing decision — s. 400.0255(10)(b), quoted in full above.

Ninety days to a hearing decision — s. 400.0255(10)(b) and (15)(b), and 65-2.066(5), F.A.C., all quoted in full above.

Three working days for the department to forward a hearing request to the Office of Appeal Hearings — 65-2.049(1), F.A.C., quoted in full above.

Twenty-four hours' notice of a hospitalization for bed-reservation purposes — s. 400.022(1)(u), quoted in full above.

Up to 30 days' bed reservation for a private-pay resident, and up to 15 days for a Title XIX (Medicaid) resident, per the licensure statute — s. 400.022(1)(u), quoted in full above.

Eight days of Medicaid reimbursement for a hospitalization leave, and 16 days per state fiscal year for a therapeutic leave, per AHCA's own coverage policy — Rule 59G-4.200, F.A.C., section 4.2.1, quoted in full above; not reconciled with the statute's own 15-day figure.

Twenty-four hours for ombudsman review of an emergency discharge or transfer, on request — s. 400.0255(11), quoted in full above.

What any of these periods means for a particular case is for the hearing office to determine.

Source map

Captured: all six, in tools/packets/florida-packet.txt. Pending: AHCA's standard transfer and discharge notice form (Form 3120-0002), which s. 400.0255(8) directs the agency to develop — still unreached after two further searches this pass, per the change log.

Change log

2026-09-05 — Deepened from the 2026-08-30 baseline to a full page: section 01 (the grounds, as Florida describes them) and section 02 (the published process, including the notice's required contents, bed-hold and return, and the notice-periods register) are newly written. Two sources are newly captured through tools/recipes/florida.json (python3 tools/capture.py florida): chapter 65-2, F.A.C. (the Department of Children and Families' general fair-hearing procedure rules) and Rule 59G-4.200, F.A.C. (the Agency for Health Care Administration's Medicaid Nursing Facility Services Coverage Policy); the original four sources are re-captured the same way, unchanged in substance. Findings: (7) AHCA's own Medicaid coverage policy states a bed-hold figure the licensure statute's "prescribed timeframe" (s. 400.0255(6)) does not itself state: 8 days of reimbursement per medically necessary hospitalization and 16 days per state fiscal year for therapeutic leave (Rule 59G-4.200, section 4.2.1, "Leave Days", May 2016). This resolves the 2026-08-30 finding (4) that no first-party bed-reservation period had been captured, but it also creates a new, unreconciled discrepancy: s. 400.022(1)(u) states that a Title XIX (Medicaid) resident's bed "will be reserved for any single hospitalization for the length of time for which Title XIX reimbursement is available, up to 15 days", a different number from AHCA's own 8 days. Both are quoted on the page as published by their own publishers. (8) Chapter 65-2, F.A.C. — the department's general fair-hearing procedure rules — is now captured; each of its rules carries its own History line reading "Formerly 10-2.xx, 10-2.0xx", confirming it is the current numbering of the "chapter 10-2, part VI" that s. 400.0255(15)(b) names, though the current chapter carries no "Part" divisions and this page cannot confirm which sections made up "Part VI" specifically. The chapter corroborates the Office of Appeal Hearings' identity, a general ten-day pendency default, a three-working-day requirement to forward a hearing request, and a ninety-day final-order deadline — all consistent with the statute — but states no street address, form, or portal for filing a hearing request either; the two-address discrepancy recorded 2026-08-30 (finding 1) stands unresolved. flrules.org serves this chapter's current text only as a single legacy binary Word ("Word 6.0/95" / Composite Document Format) file, which tools/capture.py's docx extractor (python-docx) cannot parse — python-docx reads only the OOXML .docx container. This is recorded here as a tool limitation, not a finding about Florida: the file was fetched by curl exactly as capture.py's own transport would fetch it (a stable, directly-linked download with no session token or query hash), then converted to plain text outside capture.py with the macOS textutil -convert txt utility and supplied to capture.py with --supply, per capture.py's own documented path for a capture its extractors cannot reproduce unattended; the packet's own capture notes for this source spell out exactly what was done and why a bare re-run without a fresh --supply will fail loudly rather than silently reproduce or corrupt the text. (9) Section 400.0255(17), now quoted in section 01, states a scope limit not previously quoted on this page: "The provisions of this section apply to transfers or discharges that are initiated by the nursing home facility, and not by the resident or by the resident’s physician or legal guardian or representative." (10) AHCA's standard transfer and discharge notice form (Form 3120-0002) remains capture-pending after two further searches this pass: flrules.org's own chapter listing for 59A-4 (nursing home licensure rules) does not incorporate a transfer/discharge notice form by reference among its current rules, a flrules.org form-lookup address returned an HTTP 500 error, and a search of ahca.myflorida.com's own site returned HTTP 404; the two dead document URLs found 2026-08-30 were not retried, having already failed. Capture pending: per the source map. Internet Archive: not yet submitted. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-09-05. Corrections: hello@fieldassembly.net.

2026-08-30 — Baseline page built from the first Florida packet: docket, lede, source map, change log. Not yet captured or written: section 01 (the grounds, as Florida describes them) and section 02 (the published process, including the notice's required contents in full, bed-hold and return, and the notice-periods register). Findings: (1) Two Florida agencies publish different postal addresses for the same hearing office: the Department of Children and Families gives 2415 North Monroe Street, Suite 400-I, Tallahassee, Florida 32303-4190, and the Department of Elder Affairs gives 1317 Winewood Boulevard, Building 5, Room 203, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700; the telephone number is the same on both. Both are quoted as published and reconciled nowhere. (2) The statute and the two agencies also differ in the office's name — "Office of Appeals Hearings" in the statute and on the Elder Affairs page, "Appeal Hearings Section" on the department's own page. (3) Section 400.022(1)(p) states the grounds as "medical reasons or for the welfare of other residents" and separately addresses nonpayment; the Elder Affairs page renders the same right as "medical reasons, the welfare of other residents or nonpayment of a bill", and then sets out a five-item federal list under the heading that "federal law prevents nursing homes from discharging (removing) or transferring (moving to another facility) a resident except for the following reasons". Both state statements are quoted here; the federal enumeration is not borrowed onto this page from the federal page. (4) Section 400.0255(6) refers to a facility "reimbursed for reserving a bed" and to "the prescribed timeframe" without stating a period, and no first-party statement of the bed-reservation period was captured. (5) AHCA's standard transfer and discharge notice form — which s. 400.0255(8) directs the agency to develop — could not be captured: the two document URLs found for AHCA Form 3120-0002 both returned HTTP 404 with an HTML error page. (6) The Department of Children and Families' page carries the string individual or family"s eligibility — the publisher's own text as served, reproduced as published. Capture pending: per the source map. Internet Archive: not yet submitted. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-30. Corrections: hello@fieldassembly.net.