Membership Policies
HCAF's bylaws outline the types of membership and eligibility requirements for each member type. More explanation is provided below to determine if your organization is eligible to become a member. For more information, send us a message or call (850) 222-8967.
Licensure Policy
The guiding principle is that separate Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) licensure requires separate HCAF membership.
What This Means:
- If XYZ Agency located in Fort Lauderdale (Broward County; licensure Region 10) joins HCAF, then XYZ Agency located in West Palm Beach (Palm Beach County; licensure Region 9) must also join separately to be considered members.
- If XYZ Agency in Fort Lauderdale has a separate drop-off or satellite location within the same county (Broward County, in this example), all staff members from these locations would be considered members since they all share the same AHCA license.
Licensing Law Reference:
Florida law mandates that licenses are issued on a countywide basis:
400.464, F.S.: Home health agencies to be licensed;-(2) If the licensed home health agency operates related offices, each related office outside the county where the main office is located must be separately licensed.
Additionally, sharing of HCAF information between a member and a prospective member agency is prohibited.
Management Companies
- Management companies are eligible for Associate membership.
- Associate members should not share HCAF information with any prospective member agencies they manage.
- It is encouraged that management companies join all the provider agencies they manage before becoming an Associate member.
Corporations/Corporate Membership
- A corporate office can only be considered a member once all affiliated agencies have joined HCAF.
- It is recommended to consider the corporate membership category.
- Special pricing through corporate rates requires joining all licensed offices within the organization.
Branch Locations
- Employees who frequently travel to different offices, such as branch managers, should ideally join all affiliated offices.
- HCAF will consider such individuals as members through a single office membership but requests that they do not disseminate HCAF materials to prospective member locations.
Prospective Members
- Prospective members may participate in most HCAF events but are subject to a separate fee schedule, typically 50% more than the member rate.
- If prospective members sign up for events and submit payment at the member rate, they will be invoiced for the difference.
Providers Pending Licensure
- Agencies awaiting licensure approval by AHCA may still join HCAF.
- Indicate "licensure pending" on the membership application, which will be updated once the license number is obtained.
Dues
- HCAF membership dues are among the lowest in the nation to ensure all licensed home care providers have the opportunity to be members.
- To help avoid a fee hike, it is crucial for every organization to join with all of their licensed offices.
Tax Deductibility of Membership Dues
Provider members can classify 75% of membership dues as ordinary and necessary business expenses. However, in accordance with the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993, the remaining 25% allocated for lobbying and political activities cannot be categorized as such. Please note that contributions to HCAF are not deductible as charitable donations.