Bill Text: IL SB0798 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Older Adult Services Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-08-18 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-0989 [SB0798 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-SB0798-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning aging.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended by
changing Section 4.04 as follows:
(20 ILCS 105/4.04) (from Ch. 23, par. 6104.04)
Sec. 4.04. Long Term Care Ombudsman Program. The purpose of
the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program is to ensure that older
persons and persons with disabilities receive quality
services. This is accomplished by providing advocacy services
for residents of long term care facilities and participants
receiving home care and community-based care. Managed care is
increasingly becoming the vehicle for delivering health and
long-term services and supports to seniors and persons with
disabilities, including dual eligible participants. The
additional ombudsman authority will allow advocacy services to
be provided to Illinois participants for the first time and
will produce a cost savings for the State of Illinois by
supporting the rebalancing efforts of the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act.
(a) Long Term Care Ombudsman Program. The Department shall
establish a Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, through the
Office of State Long Term Care Ombudsman ("the Office"), in

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accordance with the provisions of the Older Americans Act of
1965, as now or hereafter amended. The Long Term Care Ombudsman
Program is authorized, subject to sufficient appropriations,
to advocate on behalf of older persons and persons with
disabilities residing in their own homes or community-based
settings, relating to matters which may adversely affect the
health, safety, welfare, or rights of such individuals.
(b) Definitions. As used in this Section, unless the
context requires otherwise:
(1) "Access" has the same meaning as in Section 1-104
of the Nursing Home Care Act, as now or hereafter amended;
that is, it means the right to:
(i) Enter any long term care facility or assisted
living or shared housing establishment or supportive
living facility;
(ii) Communicate privately and without restriction
with any resident, regardless of age, who consents to
the communication;
(iii) Seek consent to communicate privately and
without restriction with any participant or resident,
regardless of age;
(iv) Inspect the clinical and other records of a
participant or resident, regardless of age, with the
express written consent of the participant or
resident;
(v) Observe all areas of the long term care

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facility or supportive living facilities, assisted
living or shared housing establishment except the
living area of any resident who protests the
observation; and
(vi) Subject to permission of the participant or
resident requesting services or his or her
representative, enter a home or community-based
setting.
(2) "Long Term Care Facility" means (i) any facility as
defined by Section 1-113 of the Nursing Home Care Act, as
now or hereafter amended; and (ii) any skilled nursing
facility or a nursing facility which meets the requirements
of Section 1819(a), (b), (c), and (d) or Section 1919(a),
(b), (c), and (d) of the Social Security Act, as now or
hereafter amended (42 U.S.C. 1395i-3(a), (b), (c), and (d)
and 42 U.S.C. 1396r(a), (b), (c), and (d)); and any
facility as defined by Section 1-113 of the MR/DD Community
Care Act, as now or hereafter amended.
(2.5) "Assisted living establishment" and "shared
housing establishment" have the meanings given those terms
in Section 10 of the Assisted Living and Shared Housing
Act.
(2.7) "Supportive living facility" means a facility
established under Section 5-5.01a of the Illinois Public
Aid Code.
(2.8) "Community-based setting" means any place of

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abode other than an individual's private home.
(3) "State Long Term Care Ombudsman" means any person
employed by the Department to fulfill the requirements of
the Office of State Long Term Care Ombudsman as required
under the Older Americans Act of 1965, as now or hereafter
amended, and Departmental policy.
(3.1) "Ombudsman" means any designated representative
of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program; provided
that the representative, whether he is paid for or
volunteers his ombudsman services, shall be qualified and
designated by the Office to perform the duties of an
ombudsman as specified by the Department in rules and in
accordance with the provisions of the Older Americans Act
of 1965, as now or hereafter amended.
(4) "Participant" means an older person aged 60 or over
or an adult with a disability aged 18 through 59 who is or
persons with disabilities who are eligible for services
under any of the following:
(i) A medical assistance waiver administered by
the State.
(ii) A managed care organization providing care
coordination and other services to seniors and persons
with disabilities.
(5) "Resident" means an older person aged 60 or over or
an adult with a disability aged 18 through 59 individual
who resides in a long-term care facility.

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(c) Ombudsman; rules. The Office of State Long Term Care
Ombudsman shall be composed of at least one full-time ombudsman
and shall include a system of designated regional long term
care ombudsman programs. Each regional program shall be
designated by the State Long Term Care Ombudsman as a
subdivision of the Office and any representative of a regional
program shall be treated as a representative of the Office.
The Department, in consultation with the Office, shall
promulgate administrative rules in accordance with the
provisions of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as now or
hereafter amended, to establish the responsibilities of the
Department and the Office of State Long Term Care Ombudsman and
the designated regional Ombudsman programs. The administrative
rules shall include the responsibility of the Office and
designated regional programs to investigate and resolve
complaints made by or on behalf of residents of long term care
facilities, supportive living facilities, and assisted living
and shared housing establishments, and participants residing
in their own homes or community-based settings, including the
option to serve residents and participants under the age of 60,
relating to actions, inaction, or decisions of providers, or
their representatives, of such facilities and establishments,
of public agencies, or of social services agencies, which may
adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of such
residents and participants. The Office and designated regional
programs may represent all residents and participants, but are

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not required by this Act to represent persons under 60 years of
age, except to the extent required by federal law. When
necessary and appropriate, representatives of the Office shall
refer complaints to the appropriate regulatory State agency.
The Department, in consultation with the Office, shall
cooperate with the Department of Human Services and other State
agencies in providing information and training to designated
regional long term care ombudsman programs about the
appropriate assessment and treatment (including information
about appropriate supportive services, treatment options, and
assessment of rehabilitation potential) of the participants
they serve.
The State Long Term Care Ombudsman and all other ombudsmen,
as defined in paragraph (3.1) of subsection (b) must submit to
background checks under the Health Care Worker Background Check
Act and receive training, as prescribed by the Illinois
Department on Aging, before visiting facilities, private
homes, or community-based settings. The training must include
information specific to assisted living establishments,
supportive living facilities, shared housing establishments,
private homes, and community-based settings and to the rights
of residents and participants guaranteed under the
corresponding Acts and administrative rules.
(c-5) Consumer Choice Information Reports. The Office
shall:
(1) In collaboration with the Attorney General, create

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a Consumer Choice Information Report form to be completed
by all licensed long term care facilities to aid
Illinoisans and their families in making informed choices
about long term care. The Office shall create a Consumer
Choice Information Report for each type of licensed long
term care facility. The Office shall collaborate with the
Attorney General and the Department of Human Services to
create a Consumer Choice Information Report form for
facilities licensed under the MR/DD Community Care Act.
(2) Develop a database of Consumer Choice Information
Reports completed by licensed long term care facilities
that includes information in the following consumer
categories:
(A) Medical Care, Services, and Treatment.
(B) Special Services and Amenities.
(C) Staffing.
(D) Facility Statistics and Resident Demographics.
(E) Ownership and Administration.
(F) Safety and Security.
(G) Meals and Nutrition.
(H) Rooms, Furnishings, and Equipment.
(I) Family, Volunteer, and Visitation Provisions.
(3) Make this information accessible to the public,
including on the Internet by means of a hyperlink labeled
"Resident's Right to Know" on the Office's World Wide Web
home page. Information about facilities licensed under the

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MR/DD Community Care Act shall be made accessible to the
public by the Department of Human Services, including on
the Internet by means of a hyperlink labeled "Resident's
and Families' Right to Know" on the Department of Human
Services' "For Customers" website.
(4) Have the authority, with the Attorney General, to
verify that information provided by a facility is accurate.
(5) Request a new report from any licensed facility
whenever it deems necessary.
(6) Include in the Office's Consumer Choice
Information Report for each type of licensed long term care
facility additional information on each licensed long term
care facility in the State of Illinois, including
information regarding each facility's compliance with the
relevant State and federal statutes, rules, and standards;
customer satisfaction surveys; and information generated
from quality measures developed by the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services.
(d) Access and visitation rights.
(1) In accordance with subparagraphs (A) and (E) of
paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of Section 1819 and
subparagraphs (A) and (E) of paragraph (3) of subsection
(c) of Section 1919 of the Social Security Act, as now or
hereafter amended (42 U.S.C. 1395i-3 (c)(3)(A) and (E) and
42 U.S.C. 1396r (c)(3)(A) and (E)), and Section 712 of the
Older Americans Act of 1965, as now or hereafter amended

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(42 U.S.C. 3058f), a long term care facility, supportive
living facility, assisted living establishment, and shared
housing establishment must:
(i) permit immediate access to any resident,
regardless of age, by a designated ombudsman; and
(ii) permit representatives of the Office, with
the permission of the resident's legal representative
or legal guardian, to examine a resident's clinical and
other records, regardless of the age of the resident,
and if a resident is unable to consent to such review,
and has no legal guardian, permit representatives of
the Office appropriate access, as defined by the
Department, in consultation with the Office, in
administrative rules, to the resident's records; and .
(iii) permit a representative of the Program to
communicate privately and without restriction with any
participant who consents to the communication
regardless of the consent of, or withholding of consent
by, a legal guardian or an agent named in a power of
attorney executed by the participant.
(2) Each long term care facility, supportive living
facility, assisted living establishment, and shared
housing establishment shall display, in multiple,
conspicuous public places within the facility accessible
to both visitors and residents and in an easily readable
format, the address and phone number of the Office of the

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Long Term Care Ombudsman, in a manner prescribed by the
Office.
(e) Immunity. An ombudsman or any representative of the
Office participating in the good faith performance of his or
her official duties shall have immunity from any liability
(civil, criminal or otherwise) in any proceedings (civil,
criminal or otherwise) brought as a consequence of the
performance of his official duties.
(f) Business offenses.
(1) No person shall:
(i) Intentionally prevent, interfere with, or
attempt to impede in any way any representative of the
Office in the performance of his official duties under
this Act and the Older Americans Act of 1965; or
(ii) Intentionally retaliate, discriminate
against, or effect reprisals against any long term care
facility resident or employee for contacting or
providing information to any representative of the
Office.
(2) A violation of this Section is a business offense,
punishable by a fine not to exceed $501.
(3) The State Long Term Care Ombudsman Director of
Aging, in consultation with the Office, shall notify the
State's Attorney of the county in which the long term care
facility, supportive living facility, or assisted living
or shared housing establishment is located, or the Attorney

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General, of any violations of this Section.
(g) Confidentiality of records and identities. The
Department shall establish procedures for the disclosure by the
State Ombudsman or the regional ombudsmen entities of files
maintained by the program. The procedures shall provide that
the files and records may be disclosed only at the discretion
of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman or the person designated
by the State Ombudsman to disclose the files and records, and
the procedures shall prohibit the disclosure of the identity of
any complainant, resident, participant, witness, or employee
of a long term care provider unless:
(1) the complainant, resident, participant, witness,
or employee of a long term care provider or his or her
legal representative consents to the disclosure and the
consent is in writing;
(2) the complainant, resident, participant, witness,
or employee of a long term care provider gives consent
orally; and the consent is documented contemporaneously in
writing in accordance with such requirements as the
Department shall establish; or
(3) the disclosure is required by court order.
(h) Legal representation. The Attorney General shall
provide legal representation to any representative of the
Office against whom suit or other legal action is brought in
connection with the performance of the representative's
official duties, in accordance with the State Employee

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Indemnification Act.
(i) Treatment by prayer and spiritual means. Nothing in
this Act shall be construed to authorize or require the medical
supervision, regulation or control of remedial care or
treatment of any resident in a long term care facility operated
exclusively by and for members or adherents of any church or
religious denomination the tenets and practices of which
include reliance solely upon spiritual means through prayer for
healing.
(j) The Long Term Care Ombudsman Fund is created as a
special fund in the State treasury to receive moneys for the
express purposes of this Section. All interest earned on moneys
in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Moneys contained in
the fund shall be used to support the purposes of this Section.
(k) Each Regional Ombudsman may, in accordance with rules
promulgated by the Office, establish a multi-disciplinary team
to act in an advisory role for the purpose of providing
professional knowledge and expertise in handling complex
abuse, neglect, and advocacy issues involving participants.
Each multi-disciplinary team may consist of one or more
volunteer representatives from any combination of at least 7
members from the following professions: banking or finance;
disability care; health care; pharmacology; law; law
enforcement; emergency responder; mental health care; clergy;
coroner or medical examiner; substance abuse; domestic
violence; sexual assault; or other related fields. To support

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multi-disciplinary teams in this role, law enforcement
agencies and coroners or medical examiners shall supply records
as may be requested in particular cases. The Regional
Ombudsman, or his or her designee, of the area in which the
multi-disciplinary team is created shall be the facilitator of
the multi-disciplinary team.
(Source: P.A. 97-38, eff. 6-28-11; 98-380, eff. 8-16-13.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2015.