Nursing Home Patient Trust Bond - Statewide in Florida

Brief Summary

There is no single amount for this bond. F.S. 400.162(5)(b) sets it at twice the average monthly balance in the resident trust fund during the prior year, or $5,000, whichever is greater, so the number comes out of your own trust fund records rather than a published table. A facility that holds no resident funds at all does not need it, but the moment a resident asks the facility to safekeep personal funds, the clock starts: the licensee has 7 days, excluding weekends and holidays, to notify the agency and apply for a bond or for participation in a self insurance agreement.

Any Florida nursing home licensee that holds resident funds in trust during the period for which a license is requested or issued must file a surety bond with the Agency for Health Care Administration in an amount equal to twice the average monthly balance in the resident trust fund during the prior year, or $5,000, whichever is greater. The bond is executed by the licensee as principal and a surety authorized in Florida, runs to the agency for the benefit of any resident injured by a violation of section 400.162, and must contain substantially the language of AHCA Form 3110-6002.

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How to Apply for a Nursing Home Patient Trust Bond:

• Calculate the amount as twice the average monthly resident trust fund balance for the prior year, or $5,000, whichever is greater
• Use a surety company authorized and licensed to do business in Florida, with the licensee as principal
• Use a bond containing substantially the same language as AHCA Form 3110-6002, Nursing Home Patient Trust Surety Bond
• File the bond with the Agency for Health Care Administration with the license application or renewal
• If you hold no resident funds now, apply for a bond or self insurance within 7 days, excluding weekends and holidays, of the first safekeeping request
• Keep copies of the application and correspondence with the insurance agency or group for agency and Ombudsman review
• File a new bond or a proper continuation certificate on the annual renewal date of the bond
• Recalculate the required amount each year rather than renewing at the old figure
• Keep resident funds in a separate Florida account, never shown as facility assets
• Furnish each resident a complete and verified statement at least every 3 months, annually, and on discharge or transfer

Detailed Information About the Florida Nursing Home Patient Trust Bond:

Working out the amount

Twice the average monthly balance in the resident trust fund during the prior year, or $5,000, whichever is greater. Rule 59A-4.103 states the same test using the prior fiscal year. Pull twelve months of trust fund balances, average them, double the result, and compare to $5,000. A facility with a small trust fund sits at the $5,000 floor. A larger facility can be well above it, and the figure should be revisited every year at renewal rather than rolled forward.

Who has to file, and who does not

Only a licensee that holds resident funds in trust. A facility that does not accept personal funds for safekeeping is outside the requirement, but that exemption ends fast. Under 400.162(5)(d), if a licensee without a bond or self insurance agreement is asked to provide safekeeping for a resident's personal funds, the licensee must notify the agency and apply for a bond or for participation in a self insurance agreement within 7 days after the request, excluding weekends and holidays. Copies of the application and related correspondence with the insurance agency or group must be kept for review by the agency and the State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.

The alternative to buying a bond

A self insurance agreement under 400.162(5)(c), as specified in agency rules. Pool funds run to any resident who suffers financial loss from a licensee's violation of the section, and are awarded in the amount the resident can establish by affidavit or other adequate evidence was deposited in trust and could not be paid within 30 days of the resident's request. Rule 59A-4.103 contemplates a pool, which may be an interest bearing account, with member deposits measured the same way as the bond, twice the average monthly balance or $5,000, whichever is greater.

Form, obligee and cancellation

The bond runs to the Agency for Health Care Administration for the benefit of any resident injured by the licensee's violation of section 400.162, and it is conditioned on the licensee's faithful compliance with that section. The rule requires the bond to contain substantially the same language as AHCA Form 3110-6002, May 2008, Nursing Home Patient Trust Surety Bond, filed with the agency.

A new bond or a proper continuation certificate is required on the annual renewal date of each licensee's bond. Any surety that cancels or does not renew must notify the agency in writing not less than 30 days in advance, giving the reason.

The trust account rules the bond backs up

Resident funds are held in trust, kept separate from facility funds, deposited in a Florida bank, savings association, trust company or credit union, if possible in the same district as the facility, never represented as facility assets on a financial statement, and used only for that resident's account. Advance payment for care may never exceed the cost of care for a 6 month period. At least every 3 months the licensee furnishes the resident, and any guardian, trustee or conservator, a complete and verified statement of all funds and property received, with sources and disposition, and in any event annually and on discharge or transfer.

On a resident's death, funds go to the personal representative, or to the spouse or adult next of kin named on the facility's beneficiary designation form. Where there is none, the money goes into an interest bearing account in a Florida institution until disbursed under the Florida Probate Code. Deceased residents' trust funds under $100 may share one account, provided records permit compiling interest due each resident, with separate accounts for balances of $100 or more. Funds not disbursed under the Probate Code within 2 years of death are deposited in the Health Care Trust Fund under section 400.063, and other property escheats to the state.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Florida Nursing Home Patient Trust Bond:

• Amount equal to twice the prior year average monthly trust fund balance, with a $5,000 minimum
• Agency for Health Care Administration as obligee, for the benefit of any resident injured by a violation of section 400.162
• Bond conditioned on the licensee's faithful compliance with section 400.162
• Surety authorized and licensed to do business in Florida
• Bond language substantially matching AHCA Form 3110-6002
• Facility name on the bond matching the license exactly
• Thirty days advance written notice from the surety to the agency, with reasons, before cancellation or nonrenewal

Florida Nursing Home Patient Trust Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Florida Nursing Home Patient Trust Bond: