BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1457|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1457
Author: Davis (D)
Amended: 7/1/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 11-0, 7/8/09
AYES: Alquist, Strickland, Aanestad, Cedillo, Cox,
DeSaulnier, Leno, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Wolk
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/18/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Long-term health care facilities: admission
contracts
SOURCE : California Senior Legislature
DIGEST : This bill requires a contract for a skilled
nursing facility (SNF) to have an attachment that is placed
before any other attachment that discloses the name of the
owner and licensee of the SNF and the name and contact
information of a single entity that is responsible for all
aspects of patient care and the operation of the SNF.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Requires all SNFs, intermediate care facilities (ICFs),
and nursing facilities, to use a standard admission
agreement that is developed and adopted by the Department
of Public Health. The standard agreement must comply
with all applicable state and federal laws.
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2.Defines a "contract of admission" to include all
documents which a resident or his or her representative
must sign at the time of, or as a condition of, admission
to a long-term health care facility.
3.Establishes requirements for contracts of admission,
including requiring the contract to be written in clear,
coherent, and unambiguous language, using words with
common and everyday meanings, requiring the Patients'
Bill of Rights to be a mandatory attachment to all SNF,
ICF, and nursing facility contracts, and requiring
contracts of admission to state clearly what services and
supplies are covered by the facility's basic daily rate.
This bill requires a contract for a SNF to have an
attachment that is placed before any other attachment that
discloses both of the following:
1.The name of the owner and licensee of the SNF; and,
2.The name and contact information of a single entity that
is responsible for all aspects of patient care and the
operation of the SNF.
This bill requires a skilled nursing facility to provide
the department with prescribed notice within 30 days of
approval of a change of ownership.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/9/09)
California Senior Legislature (source)
Aging Services of California
California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Advocates for
Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) writes in support that the
purpose of this bill is to enable nursing home residents
and their representatives to know who to contact if they
have questions or concerns about a facility in which they
live. CANHR states nursing home residents deserve to know
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who owns the facility in which they live, but it is
increasingly hard for them to obtain this basic information
as chain nursing home operators routinely establish shell
companies and complex ownership structures to obscure true
ownership and avoid accountability. CAHNR states phantom
ownership is especially problematic with private equity
companies, which have been buying up large nursing home
chains for investment purposes. CAHNR argues even federal
and state regulators often have a hard time figuring out
who really owns a nursing home. CANHR argues publicly
available ownership information, such as that posted in
nursing homes or online, often fails to identify the person
or entity that is fully responsible for the nursing home's
operation.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Eng, Price, Saldana
CTW:nl 7/13/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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