Florida Statutes 651.061 – Dismissal or discharge of resident; refund
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 651.061
- care: means , pursuant to a contract, furnishing shelter and nursing care or personal services to a resident who resides in a facility, whether such nursing care or personal services are provided in the facility or in another setting designated in the contract for continuing care, by an individual not related by consanguinity or affinity to the resident, upon payment of an entrance fee. See Florida Statutes 651.011
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
- Entrance fee: means an initial or deferred payment of a sum of money or property made as full or partial payment for continuing care or continuing care at-home. See Florida Statutes 651.011
- Facility: means a place where continuing care is furnished and may include one or more physical plants on a primary or contiguous site or an immediately accessible site. See Florida Statutes 651.011
- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
- Provider: means the owner or operator, whether a natural person, partnership or other unincorporated association, however organized, trust, or corporation, of an institution, building, residence, or other place, whether operated for profit or not, which owner or operator provides continuing care or continuing care at-home for a fixed or variable fee, or for any other remuneration of any type, whether fixed or variable, for the period of care, payable in a lump sum or lump sum and monthly maintenance charges or in installments. See Florida Statutes 651.011
- Resident: means a purchaser of, a nominee of, or a subscriber to a continuing care or continuing care at-home contract. See Florida Statutes 651.011
(1) No contract for care shall permit dismissal or discharge of the resident from the facility providing care before the expiration of the contract, without just cause for such a removal. For any contract entered into on or after October 1, 1997, and terminated by a provider for just cause, the provider shall pay to the resident any refund due upon the resident’s vacating the facility, less a reasonable amount to cover the anticipated cost of utilities, telephone, or other obligations, if applicable and as documented by the provider. Any funds retained and not used for such purposes will be refunded to the resident within 45 days of vacating the unit. For contracts written prior to October 1, 1997, any refund due shall be made in accordance with the terms of the contract. The term “just cause” includes, but is not limited to, a good faith determination that a resident is a danger to herself or himself or others while remaining in the facility. The term “just cause” does not include termination of contract holders for the purpose of decertifying a facility from this chapter.
(2) It shall not be deemed just cause if the resident is unable to pay monthly maintenance fees until the entire unearned entrance fee, plus, when applicable, any Medicare benefits under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act and/or third-party insurance benefits received, is earned by the facility. For this purpose, the unearned portion shall be the difference between all amounts paid in by the resident and the cost of caring for the resident based upon the per capita cost to the facility. In any case where a consideration greater than the minimum charge has been paid for accommodations which are above-standard, the facility may include an additional amount in the resident’s cost of care based upon the ratio of the amount paid to the minimum consideration for standard accommodations times the current per capita cost and applied to the period the aged person was in residence. Should these entrance fees be exhausted within 90 days of the date of failure to pay, the facility may not require the resident to leave before 90 days from the date of failure to pay, during which time the resident shall continue to pay the facility a reduced fee based on her or his current income.