PRINTER'S NO. 699
No. 643 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY DeLUCA, BELARDI, BISHOP, BLAUM, BROWNE,
CALTAGIRONE, COY, DeWEESE, FRANKEL, GEIST, GEORGE, GRUCELA,
HARHAI, HERMAN, HORSEY, KIRKLAND, LAUGHLIN, LEDERER,
MANDERINO, MARKOSEK, McCALL, MELIO, MICOZZIE, READSHAW,
ROEBUCK, RUFFING, SAINATO, SOLOBAY, STABACK, STEELMAN, SURRA,
THOMAS, TIGUE, WALKO, WASHINGTON, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD AND
YUDICHAK, FEBRUARY 12, 2001
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
FEBRUARY 12, 2001
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
1 under the provisions of this act.
2 "Elderly persons." Those persons residing within this
3 Commonwealth who are 60 years of age or older.
4 "Nursing home." A facility that provides either skilled or
5 intermediate nursing care or both levels of such care to two or
6 more elderly persons, who are unrelated to the licensee, for a
7 period exceeding 24 hours. Intermediate care facilities
8 exclusively for the mentally retarded, commonly called ICF/MR
9 shall not be considered nursing homes for the purpose of this
10 act.
11 Section 3. Nursing Home Consumer Information Report.
12 In addition to the information required by the Department of
13 Health on a form provided by the Department of Health pursuant
14 to the provisions of the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48),
15 known as the Health Care Facilities Act, and regulations
16 promulgated pursuant thereto, each nursing home shall provide to
17 the Department of Health no later than 90 days after the close
18 of each calendar year the following information on the above-
19 referenced form:
20 (1) Nursing hours worked per patient per day and nursing
21 hours required by the Department of Health per patient per
22 day. Actual hours worked per patient per day are for the most
23 recently concluded fiscal or calendar year.
24 (2) Average length of service of professional nursing
25 staff and the average length of service of nurse aide
26 personnel at the nursing home completing the form.
27 (3) Average length of licensure and/or certification of
28 professional nursing staff and the average length of
29 licensure and/or certification of nurse aide personnel.
30 (4) Nursing hours per patient per day of temporary
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1 agency professional nursing staff and nurse aide personnel.
2 (5) Whether a resident council exists and meets on a
3 regular basis.
4 Section 4. Nursing home consumer information.
5 (a) Guide.--
6 (1) The Department of Aging shall produce, in a timely
7 manner, a nursing home information site on the Internet. It
8 shall include:
9 (i) The items listed in section 3.
10 (ii) Information obtained from the annual Long-Term
11 Care Facilities Questionnaires submitted to the
12 Department of Health.
13 (iii) Information obtained from the Health Care
14 Financing Administration Ownership Disclosure Form.
15 (iv) A comparative list of nursing homes developed
16 in the manner provided in subsection (b).
17 (v) The Nursing Home Consumer Inquiry Telephone
18 Hotline telephone number required under subsection (c).
19 (2) If errors are found in the Consumer Information
20 Internet Guide, all facilities shall be sent a correction
21 sheet within 30 days of the Department of Aging's receipt of
22 notification of the error. For the purposes of this section,
23 an error shall be defined as information incorrectly
24 transcribed from the forms provided to the Department of
25 Health to the consumer guide.
26 (3) The Department of Aging will send final proofs to
27 the nursing home of its data profile that will be published
28 in the consumer guide prior to publication. The nursing home
29 will have five days to notify the Department of Aging of any
30 errors to be corrected. If the Department of Aging receives
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1 no notification of errors, the data profile will be
2 considered accurate and will be published.
3 (b) Comparative list.--The comparative list of nursing homes
4 shall be developed and included in the Consumer Information
5 Internet Guide by the Department of Aging. It shall include the
6 following information:
7 (1) Name of facility.
8 (2) Facility address and telephone number.
9 (3) Bed capacity.
10 (4) Owner of facility and managing company, if
11 applicable.
12 (5) Type of sponsorship, including, but not limited to,
13 governmental, nonprofit and for-profit or religious
14 affiliation, if applicable.
15 (6) Payment sources accepted, including, but not limited
16 to, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans' Administration, long-term
17 care insurance and private pay.
18 (7) Current license, deficiency and certification status
19 as determined by the Department of Health; whether, within
20 the previous five years, the facility has been subject to a
21 provisional license, a ban on admissions, penalties imposed
22 in connection with the licensure or certification process, a
23 license revocation or appointment of a temporary manager to
24 operate the facility or Medicare or Medicaid decertification
25 and the corresponding dates.
26 (8) Nursing hours per patient per day and nursing hours
27 required by the Department of Health per patient per day.
28 Actual hours worked per patient per day are for the most
29 recently concluded fiscal or calendar year.
30 (9) Average length of service at the nursing home of
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1 professional nursing staff and the average length of service
2 of nurse aide staff.
3 (10) Average length of licensure and/or certification of
4 professional nursing staff and the average length of
5 licensure and/or certification of nurse aide personnel.
6 (11) Nursing hours per patient per day of temporary
7 agency professional nursing staff and nurse aide personnel.
8 (12) A listing of existence and availability of specific
9 therapy services, including, but not limited to, physical
10 therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and respiratory
11 therapy.
12 (13) Whether a resident council exists and meets on a
13 regular basis.
14 (14) Name and telephone number of a local ombudsman.
15 (15) Costs per day, month and year.
16 (16) Visiting hours.
17 (17) If there are telephones available for private
18 conversations.
19 (18) If there is a registered dietitian.
20 (19) If there is a written emergency evacuation plan.
21 (20) The nearest hospital and the distance in miles from
22 the nursing home.
23 (21) If there are isolation rooms for patients with
24 contagious illnesses.
25 (22) If there is an Alzheimer/Parkinson disease program.
26 (23) Whether there are qualified physical therapists
27 onsite.
28 (24) Whether there is a written description of patients
29 rights and responsibilities.
30 (25) Whether there are written policies on "do not
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1 resuscitate orders," physical restraints and chemical
2 sedation.
3 (26) What medical services are available onsite,
4 including dentists, podiatrists, pharmacists and
5 ophthalmologists.
6 (27) The current resident profile, including average
7 age, race and sex.
8 (28) Information on how to contact the local area agency
9 on aging, including the services available to persons over 60
10 years of age through the local area agency on aging.
11 (29) Information on community resources that can assist
12 in the selection of a long-term care facility, such as trade
13 associations or consumer advocacy groups.
14 (c) Nursing Home Consumer Inquiry Telephone Hotline.--The
15 Department of Aging shall establish a Statewide telephone number
16 to serve as the Nursing Home Consumer Inquiry Telephone Hotline.
17 This number shall be a toll-free number. The purpose of this
18 telephone number is to respond to calls regarding the current
19 licensure, deficiency and certification status of nursing homes.
20 All data provided by the hotline shall be updated each week
21 using information provided by the Department of Health in a
22 timely fashion. This telephone number shall be prominently
23 displayed in the annual Consumer Information Internet Guide.
24 (d) Disclosure.--The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in the
25 Department of Aging shall mail at least the address of the
26 Consumer Information Internet Guide to the local long-term care
27 ombudsman of each area agency on aging, to each nursing home and
28 to the Pennsylvania Council on Aging annually.
29 (e) Availability.--Each nursing home shall post next to its
30 Department of Health license an exact copy of its listing as
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1 found in the Consumer Information Internet Guide. A nursing home
2 shall provide to each prospective resident and family member of
3 such prospective resident who visits the facility, or any member
4 of the public upon request, during normal business or visiting
5 hours, Sunday through Saturday, an exact copy of its listing as
6 set forth in the Consumer Information Internet Guide.
7 (f) Inspections.--The Department of Health shall verify the
8 availability of the listing during annual licensing surveys. The
9 Department of Health shall monitor compliance with the
10 requirements of this act for regular filing of the Long-Term
11 Care Facilities Questionnaire with the Department of Health.
12 (g) Update.--The Department of Health shall issue
13 modifications to the Long-Term Care Facilities Questionnaire
14 resulting from changes in the reimbursement system for nursing
15 homes. Such modifications shall provide the same information in
16 an updated format.
17 (h) Regulations.--The Department of Aging shall promulgate
18 regulations setting forth proposed additions, changes, or both,
19 if the department does any of the following:
20 (1) Expands the scope of the consumer guide beyond those
21 topics expressly set forth in subsection (a).
22 (2) Expands the scope of the comparative list beyond
23 those topics expressly set forth in subsection (b).
24 (3) Expands the scope of any topic expressly set forth
25 in subsection (a) or (b).
26 Section 5. Complaints.
27 Complaints of noncompliance with this act shall be filed with
28 the Department of Aging. A complainant shall include a local
29 ombudsman, a nursing home employee, a nursing home resident, a
30 prospective nursing home resident, or any person representing
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1 the interests of a nursing home resident or prospective nursing
2 home resident.
3 Section 6. Additional consumer information.
4 Each nursing home shall provide to each prospective resident
5 or representative thereof at the time of initial inquiry, a
6 companion consumer guide which describes how to select a nursing
7 home. This information can be either a publication of the
8 Department of Aging, a camera-ready copy of a publication
9 provided by the Department of Aging or a comparable publication
10 that will inform the consumer on how to choose a nursing home.
11 Section 7. Penalties.
12 The Department of Aging shall have the authority to assess a
13 $1,000 civil penalty for each violation of this act. Any person
14 aggrieved by an adjudication by the Department of Aging shall
15 have the right to appeal pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. (relating to
16 judiciary and judicial procedure).
17 Section 8. Repeals.
18 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
19 inconsistent with this act.
20 Section 9. Effective date.
21 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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