BILL ANALYSIS
AB 773
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 773 (Lieu) - As Amended: April 30, 2009
Policy Committee: Health Vote:16-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires skilled nursing facilities (SNF or nursing
homes), within 30 days of receiving an AA or A citation, to send
written notification to the primary contact for all current
residents and patients. This bill specifies the contents of the
written notice and authorizes the California Department of
Public Health (DPH) to assess an administrative penalty of
$1,000 for each day a nursing home fails to comply with
notification requirements established by this bill.
AA citations are issued when a resident death has occurred and
deemed to be the responsibility of the facility. AA citations
carry a fine of $25,000 to $100,000. Class A citations are
issued when violations present imminent danger to patients or
the substantial probability of death or serious harm, and carry
fines of $2,000 to $20,000.
FISCAL EFFECT
One-time fee-supported special fund costs of $185,000 for DPH to
promulgate regulations to specify when SNF would be subject to
penalties.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill, according to the author, is intended to
provide additional consumer protections to residents of
long-term care facilities and their families. The DPH is
responsible for ensuring health and safety standards are met
in approximately 7,000 public and private health care
facilities throughout the state. These facilities include
surgical centers, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and
home health agencies. SNF and acute care hospitals account for
almost 70% of L & C workload. Citations may be issued by DPH
during an annual certification visit, complaint investigation,
AB 773
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or a special incident investigation for violations of state or
federal law.
2)Concerns . The California Hospital Association (CHA) is opposed
to this bill. CHA indicates the hospital-based SNFs they
represent are different than nursing homes due to the short
length-of-stay for most patients. The patients in their
facilities stay days or weeks, in contrast to nursing home
patients who may stay for months or years. According to CHA,
the notification requirements established by this bill are
onerous. They will not help many patients who will have left
the facility by the time the notice goes out. In addition, CHA
indicates their SNFs already post federal and state survey
information and share information with patients and families.
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081