Florida
Assisted living claims victories in Florida budget, sees promise in future talks

Senior living industry experts are calling Florida’s $117 billion state budget a mix of hits and misses regarding programs supporting older adults.
Increasing the Medicaid reimbursement rate and personal needs allowance were two wins state associations are celebrating.
The 2024-2025 state budget, which was passed recently by lawmakers at the end of the 2024 legislation session, included a $1.3 million Medicaid increase for Assistive Care Services, which includes services provided by assisted living communities.
“We are immensely grateful to the legislature and their collaborative efforts that resulted in a budget that not only addresses immediate needs, but also builds upon a solid foundation for the future of elder care in our state,” LeadingAge Southeast Vice President of Advocacy Susan Langston said in a statement. “From nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home- and community-based services, to affordable senior housing and workforce, these investments reflect a commitment to sustaining programs and services that provide high quality care for Florida’s older adults as they age across the continuum.”
Florida Assisted Living Association CEO Bijou Ikli explained that the ACS increase will help offset some of the costs associated with providing care for low-income residents. That daily rate had been $13.37, which Ikli said wouldn’t cover an hour of child care or even boarding for a pet, let alone coverage for assisting an older adult with activities of daily living. The latest budget increase will bump that daily rate by 15%.
The low reimbursement rate previously led many assisted living providers to forgo acceptance of ACS residents. Ikli said that a bump in the rate might incentivize others to accept this type of reimbursement and potentially reduce instances of earlier transitions of residents to skilled nursing facilities.
The Florida Senior Living Association said it supported the rate increase.
“Consistent Medicaid increases are necessary for the future of assisted living,” Jason Hand, FSLA vice president of public policy and legal affairs, told McKnight’s Senior Living. “Each assisted living community in Florida is unique and provides many types of services, and we are grateful for every investment made toward securing the continued future of our amazing communities and their residents.”
Increasing the personal needs allowance
The budget also includes $6.7 million to increase the personal needs allowance for individuals receiving Florida Optional State Supplementation in an assisted living community, adult family care home or mental health treatment center. The OSS program helps qualified low-income individuals pay for room and board in those settings.
Ikli said that the increase is a significant win, as the personal needs allowance — which allows residents to retain a portion of their personal income to pay for personal expenses such as haircuts, toiletries, clothing and snacks — has remained $54 per month for assisted living residents for the past 20 years. The state budget increase brings that monthly figure up to $160 to match the amount nursing homes residents receive.
“We thought it was important to address, because we thought it must be an oversight,” Ikli said, adding that many assisted living providers who choose to supplement their residents’ needs faced the prospect of going out of business because they couldn’t maintain those expenses.
Assisted living part of ‘promising’ discussions
One area that didn’t gain traction in the latest legislative session was addressing the statewide Medicaid managed care long-term care wait list, or SMMC-LTC.
Individuals are living longer, so many older adults who move into private-pay assisted living are running out of money and have to go through the process of applying for long-term care managed care. Those individuals eventually are placed on the SMMC-LTC waitlist for the communities they once called home.
Ikli said that the system creates a level of unnecessary stress and disruption for residents. Although proposals to rework the system did not make it to the committee level, she said that “promising” conversations have occurred about developing a plan to discuss the issue in a rules setting.
In addition, there also is an effort in the state to free up beds in skilled nursing facilities by transitioning more individuals into the greater community by identifying community-based alternatives. Ikli said that she is excited about that effort and believes it presents an opportunity for assisted living providers to help with some of those transitions.
“There is a lot of room for assisted living to help with saving the system a lot of money, especially for individuals who can’t be alone but also don’t need 24-hour nursing care, to have a place to go,” she said.
The key to being successful, she said, is going to be demonstrating the value of assisted living. Ikli said that the sector needs to be able to document its value, show the benefit and work as collaborative partners with various agencies and provider types on the healthcare continuum.

Florida
Fall Ball: Week Three Schedule – Florida Gators

All fall practices and scrimmages are open to the public. Fans can access the concourse through Gate 3 of Condron Family Ballpark (located directly behind home plate).
Below is the current practice schedule for week three. All practice and approximate scrimmage times are subject to change.
Date | Practice | Scrimmage |
---|---|---|
Monday, Oct. 20 | OFF | OFF |
Tuesday, Oct. 21 | 2:00 PM | NONE |
Wednesday, Oct. 22 | 2:00 PM | 3:45 PM |
Thursday, Oct. 23 | 2:00 PM | NONE |
Friday, Oct. 24 | 2:00 PM | 3:45 PM |
Saturday, Oct. 25 | 10:00 AM | 12:00 PM |
Sunday, Oct. 26 | 10:00 AM | 11:45 AM |
Monday, Oct. 27 | OFF | OFF |
*Scrimmages typically begin approximately 90 minutes to two hours into each practice
Additionally, Florida’s fall season features exhibition games against JU in Jacksonville (Oct. 31) and Georgia Southern at Condron Family Ballpark (Nov. 10). Tickets for the Florida-Jacksonville exhibition are currently available for purchase.
Important Fall Dates
Friday, Oct. 31 | 6:30 PM | Florida vs. JU (in Jacksonville) |
Sunday, Nov. 9 | 1:00 PM | Florida vs. Georgia Southern (Condron Family Ballpark) |
Stay informed on all the most-recent news on Florida baseball by checking FloridaGators.com and following @GatorsBB on social media.
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Florida
LSU Football Should Target These Three Florida Gators After Billy Napier’s Firing

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier is out as the decision-maker in Gainesville after being relieved of his duties on Sunday afternoon.
After compiling a 22-23 record across four seasons with the program, the administration has made the move to part ways and begin a search for the new head coach.
“[Sunday] I met with Coach Napier and informed him that a change in leadership of our football program would best serve the interests of the University of Florida,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement.
“On behalf of Gator Nation, I want to sincerely thank Billy and his family for their tireless commitment to the Florida Gators. Billy built a tremendous culture of accountability and growth among the young men he led each day. His organized and detailed approach had a meaningful impact across all levels of our program.
“As Coach Napier has often said, this is a results-driven business, and while his influence was positive, it ultimately did not translate into the level of success we expect on the field.”
With Napier out, there’s a significant chance the Florida roster undergoes serious changes this offseason. Which players should LSU target if they enter the NCAA Transfer Portal?
No. 1: QB DJ Lagway
The odds are likely that Lagway will enter the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason after committing to Napier and Co. out of high school whille developing a relationship with the decision-maker.
The sophomore signal-caller hasn’t been perfect – specifically against LSU when he tossed a handful of interceptions – but he’s a quarterback that you can’t pass up on if he’s available.
No. 2: WR Vernell Brown
The true freshman wide receiver has made his presence felt in Gainesville this season while leading the Gators in receptions [32] and yards [463] by a significant margin.
Brown has emerged as Lagway’s top target where the two have developed significant rapport with the likelihood he enters the portal somewhat high.
No. 3: RB Jadan Baugh
The sophomore running back has emerged as one of the top players in the Southeastern Conference this season while logging 611 yards on 117 carries to go along with four touchdowns.
Baugh has been sensational this season and will be a hot commodity if he enters the NCAA Transfer Portal.
With Napier out of the equation, the offseason will be one of intrigue for the Florida Gators. From the coaching search to the reconstruction of the roster, all eyes will be on Gainesville across the next few months.
For the LSU Tigers, there will be an opportunity to develop relationships with multiple members of the roster if they elect to depart the Sunshine State.
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Updated AP Top-25 Poll: LSU Football Climbs Up, Oklahoma Sooners Drop in Rankings
Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU Tigers.
Florida
Secret Service found a ‘suspicious stand’ near Florida airport used by Trump, FBI says – WTOP News

Federal officials found what they have described as a “suspicious stand” near an area of Palm Beach International Airport used by Air Force One when President Trump travels to Florida, FBI Director Kash Patel said Sunday in a social media post.
Federal officials found what they have described as a “suspicious stand” near an area of Palm Beach International Airport used by Air Force One when President Trump travels to Florida, FBI Director Kash Patel said Sunday in a social media post.
The U.S. Secret Service said in a statement it found “items of interest” while sweeping the area before Mr. Trump’s arrival on Friday. The agency didn’t identify the items, but it shared a photo of what appeared to be a platform or hunting stand set up high in a tree.
“There was no impact to any movements and no individuals were present or involved at the location,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said.
Multiple sources told CBS News that the hunting stand had been there for months. Mr. Trump was not using that part of the airport in the past year due to construction, so it would not have been part of the Secret Service’s sweeps of the site.
Once construction ended, the Secret Service started using that area of the airport, and the stand was discovered right away in its initial sweeps, the sources said.
It was not immediately clear when construction ended.
The president flew into the Palm Beach airport on Friday and is set to head back to Washington on Sunday after spending the weekend at his Mar-A-Lago club.
The airport is located less than a mile north of Mr. Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, which was the site of an attempted assassination against the president last year. Prosecutors say Ryan Routh — who was found guilty in the assassination plot last month — pointed a rifle from the golf club’s tree line, but Secret Service agents spotted him and opened fire.
Mr. Trump survived a separate assassination attempt just two months earlier, when a bullet grazed his ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The security breaches drew new scrutiny to the Secret Service, which suspended several agents earlier this year.
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