ENGROSSED SENATE
BILL NO. 1042 	By:	Jolley of the Senate

			and

		Blackwell of the House

[ public health and safety - Home Care Act - requirements -		 effective date ]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     63 O.S. 2001, Section 1-1962, as amended by Section 2, Chapter 249, O.S.L. 2004 (63 O.S. Supp. 2008, Section 1-1962), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-1962.  A.  No home care agency as such term is defined by this act shall operate without first obtaining a license as required by the Home Care Act.
B.  1.  No employer or contractor, except as otherwise provided by this subsection, shall employ or contract with any individual as a home health aide for more than four (4) months, on a full-time, temporary, per diem or other basis, unless such individual is a licensed health professional or unless such individual has satisfied the requirements for certification and placement on the home health aide registry maintained by the State Department of Health; and.
2.	a.	Any person in the employment of a home care agency as a home health aide on June 30, 1992, with continuous employment through June 30, 1993, shall be granted home health aide certification by the Department on July 1, 1993.  The home care agency shall maintain responsibility for assurance of specific competencies of the home health aide and shall only assign the home health aide to tasks for which the aide has been determined to be competent.
b.	Any home health aide employed between the dates of July 1, 1992, and June 30, 1993, shall be eligible for certification by passing a competency evaluation and testing as required by the Department.
c.	Any home health aide employed on and after July 1, 1996, shall complete any specified training, competency evaluation and testing required by the Department.
C.  The provisions of the Home Care Act shall not apply to:
1.  A person acting alone who provides services in the home of a relative, neighbor or friend;
2.  A person who provides maid services only;
3.  A nurse service or home aide service conducted by and for the adherents to any religious denomination, the tenets of which include reliance on spiritual means through prayer alone for healing;
4.  A person providing hospice services pursuant to the Oklahoma Hospice Licensing Act;
5.  A nurse-midwife;
6.  An individual, agency, or organization that contracts with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to provide services under the Home and Community-Based Waiver for persons with mental retardation or the elderly or that contracts with the Department of Human Services to provide community services to persons with mental retardation or the elderly; provided, that staff members and individuals providing such services shall receive a level of training, approved by the Department of Human Services, which meets or exceeds the level required pursuant to the Home Care Act.  An individual, agency or organization otherwise covered under the Home Care Act shall be exempt from the act only for those paraprofessional direct care services provided under contracts referenced in this paragraph;
7.  An individual, agency or organization that provides or supports the provision of personal care services to an individual who performs individual employer responsibilities of hiring, training, directing and managing a personal care attendant as part of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Supports and Services (CD-PASS) waiver program.  An individual, agency or organization otherwise covered under the provisions of the Home Care Act shall be exempt from the act only for those paraprofessional direct care services provided under Oklahoma Health Care Authority contracts referenced in this paragraph, but shall not be exempt from the criminal history background check required under the Home Care Act and Section 1-1950.1 of this title for other paraprofessional direct care service providers.  A personal care attendant hired by a consumer under the CD-PASS program shall be exempt from certification as a home health aide, provided such personal care attendant receives the training required and approved by the Department of Human Services;
8.  An individual who only provides Medicaid home- and community-based personal care services pursuant to a contract with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority; or
9.  An individual who:
a.	is employed by a licensed home care agency exclusively to provide personal care services on a live-in basis,
b.	has no convictions pursuant to a criminal history investigation as provided in Section 1-1950.1 of this title,
c.	is being continuously trained by a registered nurse to provide care that is specific to the needs of the particular client receiving the care, and
d.	is supervised by a registered nurse via an on-site visit at least once each month.
SECTION 2.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2009.
Passed the Senate the 11th day of March, 2009.

	
Presiding Officer 	of the Senate

Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________, 2009.

	
Presiding Officer	of the House
	of Representatives