| |
|
| |
| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
| |
| HOUSE BILL |
|
| |
| |
| INTRODUCED BY GERGELY, BELFANTI, BRENNAN, BROWN, CREIGHTON, FREEMAN, HENNESSEY, HOUGHTON, JOSEPHS, KORTZ, KULA, McGEEHAN, McILVAINE SMITH, MELIO, MIRABITO, MOUL, MYERS, PASHINSKI, PYLE, QUINN, SWANGER AND VULAKOVICH, SEPTEMBER 8, 2009 |
| |
| |
| REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGING AND OLDER ADULT SERVICES, SEPTEMBER 8, 2009 |
| |
| |
| |
| AN ACT |
| |
1 | Establishing the Home Care Consumer Information Report Card |
2 | Program; and providing for the powers and duties of the |
3 | Department of Health. |
4 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
5 | hereby enacts as follows: |
6 | Section 1. Short title. |
7 | This act shall be known and may be cited as the Home Care |
8 | Consumer Information Report Card Act. |
9 | Section 2. Purpose. |
10 | The purpose of this act is to: |
11 | (1) Establish a central location for all information |
12 | pertaining to more than 800 home health and home care |
13 | agencies in this Commonwealth so that consumers, their |
14 | families and loved ones may easily access the information, |
15 | and Commonwealth agencies may draw on the information in the |
16 | development of sound public policy. |
17 | (2) Establish a central depository of information |
|
1 | related to home care agencies and their track records in |
2 | order to assist consumers, their families and loved ones in |
3 | comparing home care agencies in order to make the best |
4 | decision possible on where and from whom to receive home care |
5 | services. |
6 | (3) Ensure home care agencies provide the necessary |
7 | information to consumers, their families and loved ones to |
8 | make the best decision about their care and the services they |
9 | are receiving by providing access to all records pertaining |
10 | to the safety and reliability of care, including licensure |
11 | inspection reports, findings of fraud or abuse, judgments at |
12 | law, disciplinary action, inappropriate behavior or citations |
13 | against the home care agency or any of its employees. |
14 | (4) Ensure market safety through self-monitoring by |
15 | making all information about home care agencies available to |
16 | the public. |
17 | Section 3. Definitions. |
18 | The following words and phrases when used in this act shall |
19 | have the meanings given to them in this section unless the |
20 | context clearly indicates otherwise: |
21 | "Department." The Department of Health of the Commonwealth. |
22 | "Employee." A person who is a direct care worker and works |
23 | for a home care agency as an employee. |
24 | "Home care agency." A for-profit or not-for-profit |
25 | organization that arranges or schedules employees to provide or |
26 | perform activities of daily living or instrumental activities of |
27 | daily living or companionship services or specialized care on an |
28 | hourly, shift or continual basis to a consumer in the consumer's |
29 | place of residence or other independent living environment for |
30 | which the organization receives a fee, consideration or |
|
1 | compensation of any kind. The term does not include a home |
2 | health care agency, durable medical equipment provider or |
3 | volunteer provider. |
4 | "Home care consumer." A person who receives services from a |
5 | home care agency. |
6 | "Report card." A Home Care Consumer Information Report Card |
7 | prepared by the Department of Health under this act. |
8 | Section 4. Home Care Consumer Information Report Card Program. |
9 | (a) Establishment.--The Home Care Consumer Information |
10 | Report Card Program is established. |
11 | (b) Powers and duties.--The department shall ensure that |
12 | report cards are available to the public both in hard copy form |
13 | upon request, through the department's Internet website and |
14 | through all area agency on aging offices in this Commonwealth |
15 | beginning no later than January 1, 2010. |
16 | (c) Source.--A home care agency shall gather and provide the |
17 | information specified in section 5 to the department for |
18 | preparation of a report card on the home care agency, and the |
19 | department shall organize and share the information with the |
20 | public. |
21 | (d) Enforcement.--The department shall have the power to |
22 | sanction any home care agency that fails to provide the |
23 | information required and may close the home care agency for |
24 | violating this act. |
25 | Section 5. Information to be provided to the public. |
26 | A home care agency shall provide the following information to |
27 | the public as established in section 4: |
28 | (1) The home care agency's owner and management name, |
29 | business address and telephone number. |
30 | (2) Contact information for the home care agency. |
|
1 | (3) A comprehensive listing of all services provided by |
2 | employees of the home care agency. |
3 | (4) The days and hours of service, service by type, if |
4 | not all services are available during all days and hours of |
5 | operation, and areas served. |
6 | (5) The number of years the home care agency has been in |
7 | operation and the number of years it has been licensed by the |
8 | Commonwealth. |
9 | (6) Proof of proper licensure and most recent inspection |
10 | report. |
11 | (7) A list of other businesses or concerns owned by the |
12 | owner of the home care agency. |
13 | (8) The previous year's number of unduplicated consumers |
14 | served, total hours of service rendered and revenue statement |
15 | of the home care agency. |
16 | (9) The names and addresses of current employees, the |
17 | number of years each employee has worked for the home care |
18 | agency, the date of the criminal background check obtained |
19 | for each employee, additional clearances for the employee as |
20 | required by law, each employee's training, including any |
21 | specialized training in the areas of Alzheimer's disease and |
22 | dementia, and languages in which each employee is proficient. |
23 | (10) A list of executive and management salaries. |
24 | (11) A list of the average wage of all current direct |
25 | care employees as well as any paid vacation, sick time or |
26 | other employer-paid benefits the home care agency offers its |
27 | employees, including health insurance, mental health benefits |
28 | and drug and alcohol treatment. |
29 | (12) If the home care agency receives Medicaid or other |
30 | public funding, a breakdown of the current reimbursement rate |
|
1 | into direct and indirect compensation to caregivers, direct |
2 | and indirect compensation of nondirect care staff, |
3 | administrative expenses and revenue in excess of expenditures |
4 | or profit. |
5 | (13) The previous 12-month record of staff turnover for |
6 | the home care agency. |
7 | (14) A list of average weekly hours worked of direct |
8 | care employees. |
9 | (15) A copy of the home care agency personnel policies |
10 | and handbook. |
11 | (16) A list of vacation and sick days offered to current |
12 | employees. |
13 | (17) Copies of staff evaluations for current employees. |
14 | (18) Copies of correspondence between employees and |
15 | consumers relevant to the work performed by an employee. |
16 | (19) A list of any health risks or communicable diseases |
17 | any home care agency employee has or may have come in contact |
18 | with as permitted to be listed under law. |
19 | (20) A list of any relatives of an employee who receives |
20 | services from the home care agency. |
21 | (21) A list of any violations of Medicaid or Medicare |
22 | guidelines discovered through investigation or audit and |
23 | what, if any, sanctions resulted. |
24 | (22) A list of any substantiated violations of Federal |
25 | and State wage and hour law, equal opportunity law and |
26 | antidiscrimination law, and the resulting sanctions for the |
27 | violations. |
28 | (23) A list of any substantiated unfair labor practice |
29 | charges. |
30 | (24) A list of any notices or sanctions arising from |
|
1 | unlawful failure to pay into the Commonwealth's Unemployment |
2 | Compensation Fund or Workers' Compensation Security Fund or |
3 | failure to pay any Federal, State or municipal taxes. |
4 | (25) An affidavit from other forms of financial |
5 | reporting, such as lobby disclosure reporting, stating that |
6 | no Medicaid money was used for political purposes and |
7 | outlining all moneys spent on political donation, campaigns |
8 | or lobbying purposes even if paid to an association for such |
9 | reason. |
10 | (26) Any other information the department deems |
11 | necessary for public knowledge. |
12 | Section 6. Publication of report cards by department. |
13 | The department shall provide the following information to the |
14 | public as established in section 4: |
15 | (1) Copies of all licensure and any other documentation |
16 | prepared by and filed with the department in relation to the |
17 | operation of all home care agencies in this Commonwealth. |
18 | (2) Copies of all compliance checks, incident reports |
19 | and disciplinary actions taken against all home care |
20 | agencies. |
21 | (3) Copies of all area agency on aging audits and other |
22 | compliance checks performed on home care agencies by the area |
23 | agencies on aging. |
24 | (4) Copies of all Systemic Advocacy Management System |
25 | Reports filed by home care agencies, properly adapted to |
26 | ensure client privacy and compliance with the Health |
27 | Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public |
28 | Law 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936). |
29 | (5) Copies of any consumer correspondence sent to the |
30 | department relating to home care agencies in Pennsylvania. |
|
1 | (6) The person to contact at the department and contact |
2 | information for that person in order to obtain information |
3 | about and requirements for home care agencies. |
4 | Section 7. Public notice requirement. |
5 | All information made public shall remain available to the |
6 | public in the same manner published for a period of no less than |
7 | ten years. |
8 | Section 8. Public safety and confidentiality. |
9 | All information released to the public under this act, |
10 | including names of consumers and confidential health |
11 | information, as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and |
12 | Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936), |
13 | shall be removed or struck out by the department prior to the |
14 | release. |
15 | Section 9. Effective date. |
16 | This act shall take effect November 1, 2009, or immediately, |
17 | whichever is later. |
|