BILL NUMBER: AB 215 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Feuer and Smyth
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Huffman and Lieu)
(Principal coauthors: Senators Alquist and Florez)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Blumenfield, Carter,
Fletcher, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight, and Silva)
(Coauthor: Senator DeSaulnier)
FEBRUARY 3, 2009
An act to add Section 1418.21 to the Health and Safety Code,
relating to long-term health care facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 215, as amended, Feuer. Long-term health care
Skilled nursing facilities: ratings.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation by the
State Department of Public Health of long-term health care
facilities, including long-term health care
skilled nursing facilities. Existing law creates the State
Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account in the Special Deposit
Fund, with the moneys in this account to be used, upon appropriation,
for prescribed purposes.
This bill would, commencing January 1, 2011, require a
long-term health care facility skilled nursing
facilities to post, in accordance with prescribed requirements,
the overall facility rating information determined by the federal
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and to inform
consumers regarding informatio n available at the
department's Internet Web site . A violation of these
provisions would be a class B violation, as defined, with the
proceeds from fines collected to be deposited into the State Health
Facilities Citation Penalties Account.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1418.21 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
1418.21. (a) A long-term health care
skilled nursing facility that has been certified for purposes
of Medicare or Medicaid and provides skilled nursing care
shall post the overall facility rating information
determined by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) in accordance with the following requirements:
(1) The information shall be posted in at least the following
locations, in the facility:
(A) An area accessible and visible to members of the public.
(B) An area used for employee breaks.
(C) An area used by residents for communal functions, such as
dining, resident council meetings, or activities.
(2) The information shall be posted on a white
or light-colored sheet of paper that is at least 8
1/2 by 11 inches in size
that paper that includes all of the
following, in the following order:
(A) The full name of the facility, in a clear and easily readable
font of at least 28 point.
(B) The full address of the facility in a clear and easily
readable font of at least 20 point.
(C) The most recent overall star rating given by CMS to that
facility, except that a facility shall have seven business days from
the date when it receives a different rating from the CMS to include
the updated rating in the posting. The star rating shall be aligned
in the center of the page. The star rating shall be expressed as the
number that reflects the number of stars given to the facility by the
CMS. The number shall be in a clear and easily readable font of at
least two inches print.
(D) Directly below the star symbols shall be the following text in
a clear and easily readable font of at least 28 point:
"The above number is out of 5 stars."
(E) Directly below the text described in subparagraph (D) shall be
the following text in a clear and easily readable font of at least
14 point:
"This facility is reviewed annually and has been licensed by the
State of California and certified by the federal Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS rates facilities that are certified
to accept Medicare or Medicaid. CMS gave the above rating to this
facility. A detailed explanation of this rating is maintained at this
facility and will be made available upon request. This information
can also be accessed online at the Nursing Home Compare Internet Web
site at <http://www.medicare.gov/NHcompare>. Like any
information, the Five-Star Quality Rating System has strengths and
limits. The criteria upon which the rating is determined may not
represent all of the aspects of care that may be important to you.
You are encouraged to discuss the rating with facility staff. The
Five-Star Quality Rating System was created to help consumers, their
families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily and help
identify areas about which you may want to ask questions. Nursing
home ratings are assigned based on ratings given to health
inspections, staffing, and quality measures. Some areas are assigned
a greater weight than other areas. These ratings are combined to
calculate the overall rating posted here."
(3) A copy of the most recent CMS report on the facility shall be
maintained at the facility, and shall be made available to residents
or the public upon request.
(F) Directly below the text described in subparagraph (E), the
following text shall appear in a clear and easily readable font of at
least 14 point:
"State licensing information on skilled nursing facilities is
available on the State Department of Public Health's Internet Web
site at: www.cdph.ca.gov, under Programs, Licensing and
Certification, Health Facilities Consumer Information System."
(3) For the purposes of this section, "a detailed explanation of
this rating" shall include, but shall not be limited to, a printout
of the information explaining the Five-Star Quality Rating System
that is available on the CMS Nursing Home Compare Internet Web site.
This information shall be maintained at the facility and shall be
made available upon request.
(4) The requirements of this section shall be in addition to any
other posting or inspection report availability requirements.
(b) Violation of this section shall constitute a class B
violation, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 1424 and,
notwithstanding Section 1290, shall not constitute a crime. Fines
from a violation of this section shall be deposited into the State
Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account, created pursuant to
Section 1417.2.
(c) This section shall be operative on January 1, 2011.