BILL NUMBER: AB 2747	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 17, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Hadley

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to  amend Section 1569 of   add
Section 1221.20 to  the Health and Safety Code, relating to
 care facilities.   specialty clinics. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2747, as amended, Hadley.  Residential care facilities.
  Chronic dialysis clinics.  
   Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of clinics
by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law provides that
certain types of specialty clinics, including chronic dialysis
clinics, as defined, are eligible for licensure.  
   This bill would require the department, within 90 days after
receiving an initial and complete chronic dialysis clinic
application, to complete the application paperwork, to conduct a
licensure survey, if necessary, and in certain circumstances, to
conduct an unannounced certification survey in accordance with a
specified timeline, as provided. The bill would require the
department to forward the results of the certification survey to the
federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as specified.
 
   Under existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for
the Elderly Act, the State Department of Social Services licenses
and regulates residential care facilities for the elderly. Under the
act, the Legislature finds and declares that, due to a greater demand
for residences for the elderly that provide care and supervision,
residential care facilities for the elderly are licensed as a
separate category from community care facilities. Under the act, no
residential care facility for the elderly can accept a person needing
care beyond the level of care for which that facility is licensed.
 
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those
provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    (a) The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:  
   (1) New dialysis facilities in California are being required to
wait nine months or longer to be licensed by the State Department of
Public Health and to receive Medicare certification surveys after
they are otherwise ready to serve patients.  
   (2) The prevalence of dialysis in California is increasing faster
than the national average due to the high incidence of diabetes and
hypertension, the two major causes of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).
The growth in the ESRD patient population is causing a burden for
patients and families, forcing patients to dialyze on shifts and
travel to dialysis centers that are not convenient for a patient who
is suffering from a chronic disease.  
   (3) Prior to a new dialysis center being surveyed, the dialysis
center invests significant financial resources to develop a new
facility. In addition to the construction cost, the dialysis center
must be equipped with state of the art equipment to provide quality
care. It also must receive a certificate of occupancy, ensuring that
the dialysis center is constructed to meet all local, state, and
federal regulations.  
   (4) Additionally, a dialysis center must be staffed prior to
requesting a survey, which means that the center is bearing the cost
of staff for nine months or more before it can serve patients. 

   (5) It would require less than one full-time equivalent staff
member to eliminate the current backlog of approximately twenty new
dialysis centers that are waiting to receive state licensure and a
Medicare certification survey. The same is true for providing timely
surveys of new dialysis centers on an annual basis.  
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to
require expeditious licensure and Medicare certification surveys for
new dialysis clinics in California. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 1221.20 is added to the  
Health and Safety Code   ,  immediately following
Section 1221.19  , to read:  
   1221.20.  (a) Within 90 calendar days after the department
receives an initial and complete chronic dialysis clinic application,
the department shall complete the application paperwork and conduct
a licensure survey, if necessary, to inspect the clinic and evaluate
the clinic's compliance with state licensure requirements. The
department shall forward its recommendation, if necessary, and all
other information, to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services within the same 90 calendar days.
   (b) (1) For an applicant seeking to receive reimbursement under
the Medicare or Medi-Cal programs, the department shall complete the
initial application paperwork and conduct an unannounced
certification survey, if necessary, within 90 days after the
department's receipt of a letter from the chronic dialysis clinic
notifying the department of its readiness for the certification
survey.
   (2) No later than 30 calendar days after the certification survey,
the department shall forward the results of its licensure and
certification surveys and all other information necessary for
certification to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 1569 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
   1569.  This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act.