Bill Text: PA HB1961 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishing the Home Care Consumer Information Report Card Program; and providing for the powers and duties of the Department of Health.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-4)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-09-08 - Referred to AGING AND OLDER ADULT SERVICES [HB1961 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB1961-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 2628
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 1961 Session of2009
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
Establishing the Home Care Consumer Information Report Card
Program; and providing for the powers and duties of the
Department of Health.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Home Care
Consumer Information Report Card Act.
Section 2. Purpose.
The purpose of this act is to:
(1) Establish a central location for all information
pertaining to more than 800 home health and home care
agencies in this Commonwealth so that consumers, their
families and loved ones may easily access the information,
and Commonwealth agencies may draw on the information in the
development of sound public policy.
(2) Establish a central depository of information
related to home care agencies and their track records in
order to assist consumers, their families and loved ones in
comparing home care agencies in order to make the best
decision possible on where and from whom to receive home care
services.
(3) Ensure home care agencies provide the necessary
information to consumers, their families and loved ones to
make the best decision about their care and the services they
are receiving by providing access to all records pertaining
to the safety and reliability of care, including licensure
inspection reports, findings of fraud or abuse, judgments at
law, disciplinary action, inappropriate behavior or citations
against the home care agency or any of its employees.
(4) Ensure market safety through self-monitoring by
making all information about home care agencies available to
the public.
Section 3. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of Health of the Commonwealth.
"Employee." A person who is a direct care worker and works
for a home care agency as an employee.
"Home care agency." A for-profit or not-for-profit
organization that arranges or schedules employees to provide or
perform activities of daily living or instrumental activities of
daily living or companionship services or specialized care on an
hourly, shift or continual basis to a consumer in the consumer's
place of residence or other independent living environment for
which the organization receives a fee, consideration or
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compensation of any kind. The term does not include a home
health care agency, durable medical equipment provider or
volunteer provider.
"Home care consumer." A person who receives services from a
home care agency.
"Report card." A Home Care Consumer Information Report Card
prepared by the Department of Health under this act.
Section 4. Home Care Consumer Information Report Card Program.
(a) Establishment.--The Home Care Consumer Information
Report Card Program is established.
(b) Powers and duties.--The department shall ensure that
report cards are available to the public both in hard copy form
upon request, through the department's Internet website and
through all area agency on aging offices in this Commonwealth
beginning no later than January 1, 2010.
(c) Source.--A home care agency shall gather and provide the
information specified in section 5 to the department for
preparation of a report card on the home care agency, and the
department shall organize and share the information with the
public.
(d) Enforcement.--The department shall have the power to
sanction any home care agency that fails to provide the
information required and may close the home care agency for
violating this act.
Section 5. Information to be provided to the public.
A home care agency shall provide the following information to
the public as established in section 4:
(1) The home care agency's owner and management name,
business address and telephone number.
(2) Contact information for the home care agency.
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(3) A comprehensive listing of all services provided by
employees of the home care agency.
(4) The days and hours of service, service by type, if
not all services are available during all days and hours of
operation, and areas served.
(5) The number of years the home care agency has been in
operation and the number of years it has been licensed by the
Commonwealth.
(6) Proof of proper licensure and most recent inspection
report.
(7) A list of other businesses or concerns owned by the
owner of the home care agency.
(8) The previous year's number of unduplicated consumers
served, total hours of service rendered and revenue statement
of the home care agency.
(9) The names and addresses of current employees, the
number of years each employee has worked for the home care
agency, the date of the criminal background check obtained
for each employee, additional clearances for the employee as
required by law, each employee's training, including any
specialized training in the areas of Alzheimer's disease and
dementia, and languages in which each employee is proficient.
(10) A list of executive and management salaries.
(11) A list of the average wage of all current direct
care employees as well as any paid vacation, sick time or
other employer-paid benefits the home care agency offers its
employees, including health insurance, mental health benefits
and drug and alcohol treatment.
(12) If the home care agency receives Medicaid or other
public funding, a breakdown of the current reimbursement rate
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into direct and indirect compensation to caregivers, direct
and indirect compensation of nondirect care staff,
administrative expenses and revenue in excess of expenditures
or profit.
(13) The previous 12-month record of staff turnover for
the home care agency.
(14) A list of average weekly hours worked of direct
care employees.
(15) A copy of the home care agency personnel policies
and handbook.
(16) A list of vacation and sick days offered to current
employees.
(17) Copies of staff evaluations for current employees.
(18) Copies of correspondence between employees and
consumers relevant to the work performed by an employee.
(19) A list of any health risks or communicable diseases
any home care agency employee has or may have come in contact
with as permitted to be listed under law.
(20) A list of any relatives of an employee who receives
services from the home care agency.
(21) A list of any violations of Medicaid or Medicare
guidelines discovered through investigation or audit and
what, if any, sanctions resulted.
(22) A list of any substantiated violations of Federal
and State wage and hour law, equal opportunity law and
antidiscrimination law, and the resulting sanctions for the
violations.
(23) A list of any substantiated unfair labor practice
charges.
(24) A list of any notices or sanctions arising from
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unlawful failure to pay into the Commonwealth's Unemployment
Compensation Fund or Workers' Compensation Security Fund or
failure to pay any Federal, State or municipal taxes.
(25) An affidavit from other forms of financial
reporting, such as lobby disclosure reporting, stating that
no Medicaid money was used for political purposes and
outlining all moneys spent on political donation, campaigns
or lobbying purposes even if paid to an association for such
reason.
(26) Any other information the department deems
necessary for public knowledge.
Section 6. Publication of report cards by department.
The department shall provide the following information to the
public as established in section 4:
(1) Copies of all licensure and any other documentation
prepared by and filed with the department in relation to the
operation of all home care agencies in this Commonwealth.
(2) Copies of all compliance checks, incident reports
and disciplinary actions taken against all home care
agencies.
(3) Copies of all area agency on aging audits and other
compliance checks performed on home care agencies by the area
agencies on aging.
(4) Copies of all Systemic Advocacy Management System
Reports filed by home care agencies, properly adapted to
ensure client privacy and compliance with the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public
Law 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936).
(5) Copies of any consumer correspondence sent to the
department relating to home care agencies in Pennsylvania.
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(6) The person to contact at the department and contact
information for that person in order to obtain information
about and requirements for home care agencies.
Section 7. Public notice requirement.
All information made public shall remain available to the
public in the same manner published for a period of no less than
ten years.
Section 8. Public safety and confidentiality.
All information released to the public under this act,
including names of consumers and confidential health
information, as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936),
shall be removed or struck out by the department prior to the
release.
Section 9. Effective date.
This act shall take effect November 1, 2009, or immediately,
whichever is later.
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