BILL NUMBER: AB 893	CHAPTERED  09/16/99

	CHAPTER   430
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 16, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 16, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 26, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 23, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 14, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 29, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 17, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 18, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Alquist
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Havice, Honda, Jackson, Keeley,
Knox, Lempert, Mazzoni, Romero, Shelley, and Washington)
   (Coauthors:  Senators Baca and Speier)

                        FEBRUARY 25, 1999

   An act to amend Section 1422.5 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to care facilities, and making an appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 893, Alquist.  Long-term care facilities:  consumer
information.
   Existing law regulates the operation of skilled nursing
facilities, under the direction of the State Department of Health
Services.  Existing law requires the State Department of Health
Services to maintain a consumer information service including certain
information regarding long-term care facilities and their
communities.
   This bill would require the department to provide the information
on the Internet, and to include certain information in the department'
s long-term health care facility profiles.  It would appropriate
$100,000 from the General Fund to the department to enable the
department to implement these provisions on or before July 1, 2002.

   Appropriation:  yes.


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


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares that inasmuch as the
number of Californians over 60 years of age will double by the year
2020, as predicted by the 1995 federal mid-decade census, from 3.3
million to an estimated 6.6 million, and inasmuch as the number of
frail elderly, 85 years of age or older, will double as well, there
will continue to be a demand for institutional care, as part of the
continuum of social and health care services for our aging
population.
  SEC. 2.  Section 1422.5 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   1422.5.  (a) The department shall develop and establish a consumer
information service system to provide updated and accurate
information to the general public and consumers regarding long-term
care facilities in their communities.  The consumer information
service system shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the
following elements:
   (1) An on-line inquiry system accessible through a statewide
toll-free "800" number and the Internet.
   (2) Long-term health care facility profiles, with data on services
provided, a history of all citations and complaints for the last two
full survey cycles, and ownership information.  The profile for each
facility shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

   (A) The name, address, and telephone number of the facility.
   (B) The number of units or beds in the facility.
   (C) Whether the facility accepts Medicare or Medi-Cal patients.
   (D) Whether the facility is a nursing home , and whether the
facility has a special care unit or program for people with Alzheimer'
s disease and other dementias, and whether the facility participates
in the voluntary disclosure program for special care units.
   (E) Whether the facility is a for profit or not-for-profit
provider.
   (3) Information regarding substantiated complaints shall include
the action taken and the date of action.
   (4) Information regarding the state citations assessed shall
include the status of the state citation, including the facility's
plan or correction, and information as to whether an appeal has been
filed.
   (5) Any appeal resolution pertaining to a citation or complaint
shall be updated on the file in a timely manner.
   (b) Where feasible, the department shall interface the consumer
information service system with its Automated Certification and
Licensure Information Management System.
   (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department, in
developing and establishing the system pursuant to subdivision (a),
maximize the use of available federal funds.
  SEC. 3.  The sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) is
hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of
Health Services to enable the department to implement on or before
July 1, 2002, the changes made to Section 1422.5 of the Health and
Safety Code, as contained in Section 2 of this act.