PRINTER'S NO. 1464
No. 1274 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY DeLUCA, ROONEY, DeWEESE, BELFANTI, BROWNE, CIVERA,
M. COHEN, COLAFELLA, EVANS, FREEMAN, GEIST, GRUCELA, HARHAI,
HERMAN, JOSEPHS, LaGROTTA, LAUGHLIN, MAHER, MANDERINO,
MARKOSEK, MELIO, MYERS, RAMOS, READSHAW, RIEGER, RUFFING,
SAINATO, SEYFERT, SOLOBAY, STABACK, STEELMAN, SURRA, THOMAS,
TRELLO, TRICH, VAN HORNE, WILLIAMS, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD,
COSTA AND LEDERER, APRIL 14, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGING AND YOUTH, APRIL 14, 1999
AN ACT
1 Requiring nursing homes to submit information annually to the
2 Department of Health; requiring the Department of Health to
3 place certain information on the Internet; and providing for
4 certain duties of the Department of Health and the Department
5 of Aging.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Short title.
9 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Nursing Home
10 Consumer Internet Information Access Law.
11 Section 2. Definitions.
12 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
13 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
14 context clearly indicates otherwise:
15 "Consumer Information Internet Guide." The Nursing Home
16 Consumer Information Internet Guide required to be published
17 under the provisions of this act.
1 "Elderly persons." Those persons residing within this
2 Commonwealth who are 60 years of age or older.
3 "Nursing home." A facility that provides either skilled or
4 intermediate nursing care or both levels of such care to two or
5 more elderly persons, who are unrelated to the licensee, for a
6 period exceeding 24 hours. Intermediate care facilities
7 exclusively for the mentally retarded, commonly called ICF/MR
8 shall not be considered nursing homes for the purpose of this
9 act.
10 Section 3. Nursing Home Consumer Information Report.
11 In addition to the information required by the Department of
12 Health on a form provided by the Department of Health pursuant
13 to the provisions of the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48),
14 known as the Health Care Facilities Act, and regulations
15 promulgated pursuant thereto, each nursing home shall provide to
16 the Department of Health no later than 90 days after the close
17 of each calendar year the following information on the above-
18 referenced form:
19 (1) Nursing hours worked per patient per day and nursing
20 hours required by the Department of Health per patient per
21 day. Actual hours worked per patient per day are for the most
22 recently concluded fiscal or calendar year.
23 (2) Average length of service of professional nursing
24 staff and the average length of service of nurse aide
25 personnel at the nursing home completing the form.
26 (3) Average length of licensure and/or certification of
27 professional nursing staff and the average length of
28 licensure and/or certification of nurse aide personnel.
29 (4) Nursing hours per patient per day of temporary
30 agency professional nursing staff and nurse aide personnel.
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1 (5) Whether a resident council exists and meets on a
2 regular basis.
3 Section 4. Nursing home consumer information.
4 (a) Guide.--
5 (1) The Department of Aging shall produce, in a timely
6 manner, a nursing home information site on the Internet. It
7 shall include:
8 (i) The items listed in section 3.
9 (ii) Information obtained from the annual Long-Term
10 Care Facilities Questionnaires submitted to the
11 Department of Health.
12 (iii) Information obtained from the Health Care
13 Financing Administration Ownership Disclosure Form.
14 (iv) A comparative list of nursing homes developed
15 in the manner provided in subsection (b).
16 (v) The Nursing Home Consumer Inquiry Telephone
17 Hotline telephone number required under subsection (c).
18 (2) If errors are found in the Consumer Information
19 Internet Guide, all facilities shall be sent a correction
20 sheet within 30 days of the Department of Aging's receipt of
21 notification of the error. For the purposes of this section,
22 an error shall be defined as information incorrectly
23 transcribed from the forms provided to the Department of
24 Health to the consumer guide.
25 (3) The Department of Aging will send final proofs to
26 the nursing home of its data profile that will be published
27 in the consumer guide prior to publication. The nursing home
28 will have five days to notify the Department of Aging of any
29 errors to be corrected. If the Department of Aging receives
30 no notification of errors, the data profile will be
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1 considered accurate and will be published.
2 (b) Comparative list.--The comparative list of nursing homes
3 shall be developed and included in the Consumer Information
4 Internet Guide by the Department of Aging. It shall include the
5 following information:
6 (1) Name of facility.
7 (2) Facility address and telephone number.
8 (3) Bed capacity.
9 (4) Owner of facility and managing company, if
10 applicable.
11 (5) Type of sponsorship, including, but not limited to,
12 governmental, nonprofit and for-profit or religious
13 affiliation, if applicable.
14 (6) Payment sources accepted, including, but not limited
15 to, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans' Administration, long-term
16 care insurance and private pay.
17 (7) Current license, deficiency and certification status
18 as determined by the Department of Health; whether, within
19 the previous five years, the facility has been subject to a
20 provisional license, a ban on admissions, penalties imposed
21 in connection with the licensure or certification process, a
22 license revocation or appointment of a temporary manager to
23 operate the facility or Medicare or Medicaid decertification
24 and the corresponding dates.
25 (8) Nursing hours per patient per day and nursing hours
26 required by the Department of Health per patient per day.
27 Actual hours worked per patient per day are for the most
28 recently concluded fiscal or calendar year.
29 (9) Average length of service at the nursing home of
30 professional nursing staff and the average length of service
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1 of nurse aide staff.
2 (10) Average length of licensure and/or certification of
3 professional nursing staff and the average length of
4 licensure and/or certification of nurse aide personnel.
5 (11) Nursing hours per patient per day of temporary
6 agency professional nursing staff and nurse aide personnel.
7 (12) A listing of existence and availability of specific
8 therapy services, including, but not limited to, physical
9 therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and respiratory
10 therapy.
11 (13) Whether a resident council exists and meets on a
12 regular basis.
13 (14) Name and telephone number of a local ombudsman.
14 (15) Costs per day, month and year.
15 (16) Visiting hours.
16 (17) If there are telephones available for private
17 conversations.
18 (18) If there is a registered dietitian.
19 (19) If there is a written emergency evacuation plan.
20 (20) The nearest hospital and the distance in miles from
21 the nursing home.
22 (21) If there are isolation rooms for patients with
23 contagious illnesses.
24 (22) If there is an Alzheimer/Parkinson disease program.
25 (23) Whether there are qualified physical therapists
26 onsite.
27 (24) Whether there is a written description of patients
28 rights and responsibilities.
29 (25) Whether there are written policies on "do not
30 resuscitate orders," physical restraints and chemical
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1 sedation.
2 (26) What medical services are available onsite,
3 including dentists, podiatrists, pharmacists,
4 ophthalmologists.
5 (27) The current resident profile, including average
6 age, race and sex.
7 (28) Information on how to contact the local area agency
8 on aging, including the services available to persons over 60
9 years of age through the local area agency on aging.
10 (29) Information on community resources that can assist
11 in the selection of a long-term care facility, such as trade
12 associations or consumer advocacy groups.
13 (c) Nursing Home Consumer Inquiry Telephone Hotline.--The
14 Department of Aging shall establish a Statewide telephone number
15 to serve as the Nursing Home Consumer Inquiry Telephone Hotline.
16 This number shall be a toll-free number. The purpose of this
17 telephone number is to respond to calls regarding the current
18 licensure, deficiency and certification status of nursing homes.
19 All data provided by the hotline shall be updated each week
20 using information provided by the Department of Health in a
21 timely fashion. This telephone number shall be prominently
22 displayed in the annual Consumer Information Internet Guide.
23 (d) Disclosure.--The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in the
24 Department of Aging shall mail at least the address of the
25 Consumer Information Internet Guide to the local long-term care
26 ombudsman of each area agency on aging, to each nursing home and
27 to the Pennsylvania Council on Aging annually.
28 (e) Availability.--Each nursing home shall post next to its
29 Department of Health license an exact copy of its listing as
30 found in the Consumer Information Internet Guide. A nursing home
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1 shall provide to each prospective resident and family member of
2 such prospective resident who visits the facility, or any member
3 of the public upon request, during normal business or visiting
4 hours, Sunday through Saturday, an exact copy of its listing as
5 set forth in the Consumer Information Internet Guide.
6 (f) Inspections.--The Department of Health shall verify the
7 availability of the listing during annual licensing surveys. The
8 Department of Health shall monitor compliance with the
9 requirements of this act for regular filing of the Long-Term
10 Care Facilities Questionnaire with the Department of Health.
11 (g) Update.--The Department of Health shall issue
12 modifications to the Long-Term Care Facilities Questionnaire
13 resulting from changes in the reimbursement system for nursing
14 homes. Such modifications shall provide the same information in
15 an updated format.
16 (h) Regulations.--The Department of Aging shall promulgate
17 regulations setting forth proposed additions, changes, or both,
18 if the department does any of the following:
19 (1) Expands the scope of the consumer guide beyond those
20 topics expressly set forth in subsection (a).
21 (2) Expands the scope of the comparative list beyond
22 those topics expressly set forth in subsection (b).
23 (3) Expands the scope of any topic expressly set forth
24 in subsection (a) or (b).
25 Section 5. Complaints.
26 Complaints of noncompliance with this act shall be filed with
27 the Department of Aging. A complainant shall include a local
28 ombudsman, a nursing home employee, a nursing home resident, a
29 prospective nursing home resident, or any person representing
30 the interests of a nursing home resident or prospective nursing
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1 home resident.
2 Section 6. Additional consumer information.
3 Each nursing home shall provide to each prospective resident
4 or representative thereof at the time of initial inquiry, a
5 companion consumer guide which describes how to select a nursing
6 home. This information can be either a publication of the
7 Department of Aging, a camera-ready copy of a publication
8 provided by the Department of Aging or a comparable publication
9 that will inform the consumer on how to choose a nursing home.
10 Section 7. Penalties.
11 The Department of Aging shall have the authority to assess a
12 $1,000 civil penalty for each violation of this act. Any person
13 aggrieved by an adjudication by the Department of Aging shall
14 have the right to appeal pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. (relating to
15 judiciary and judicial procedure).
16 Section 8. Repeals.
17 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
18 inconsistent with this act.
19 Section 9. Effective date.
20 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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