ALERTS

On April 6, 2022, the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Committee on the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes released a 605 page report – The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality; Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families and Staff – that is meant to be a blueprint for desperately needed reform of nursing home care.

A scathing March 29, 2022 report by Michael Tilden, Acting California State Auditor, charged that the California Department of Public Health “essentially enabled hospice agency operators who are possibly fraudulent to continue functioning, putting patients at serious risk of not receiving appropriate care.” The long-awaited report opens with a letter to the governor and legislative leaders that states: “Indicators strongly suggest that a network or networks of individual perpetrators in Los Angeles County are engaging in a large and organized effort to defraud the Medicare and Medi-Cal hospice programs.

Raising the wages of nursing home caregivers is smart. Trusting nursing homes with even more hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars is dumb. On March 2, 2022, the California Association of Health Facilities (CAHF) – a trade group representing nursing home operators – announced a legislative proposal for California to fund a living wage for certified nursing assistants (CNAs).

In early January, Californians will get a first look at whether state legislators have found the will and independence to prevent corrupt nursing home operators from buying up facilities throughout the state. That is when the Assembly Health Committee will hear AB 1502 (Muratsuchi), the CANHR sponsored bill to reform nursing home ownership in California. The stakes are high for current and future nursing home residents in California.

CONTACTS: Patricia McGinnis, Executive Director, CANHRpatm@canhr.org (415) 974-5171  Anthony Chicotel, Senior Staff Attorney, CANHRtony@canhr.org (415) 974-5171 Governor Newsom Signs Five of Six Nursing Home PROTECT Plan Reform Bills Berkeley, CA – This week Governor Newsom signed into law five out of six reform bills that respond to the tragic conditions nursing home residents face in California and the growing public awareness during the pandemic that residents are often being neglected, abused, mistreated and exploited.

For the first time in over a decade, the legislature has passed multiple major nursing home reform bills and Governor Newsom is weighing whether to sign them.  Please help support better nursing home care by writing to the governor and urging him to sign SB 650, AB 849 and AB 279.   SB 650 (Stern), the Corporate Transparency in Elder Care Act, is co-sponsored by California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, SEIU, and AARP and would require nursing homes to account for public funds that corporate chains are increasingly diverting from resident care through shadowy side transactions with related parties.

On August 11, Senator Ron Wyden, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Bob Casey, Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, and several other senators introduced the Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act of 2021. The bill aims to increase transparency, accountability and oversight in nursing homes, improve staffing and support innovation in the structure and culture of nursing homes.

On June 30, Congressmembers Claudia Tenney and John Larson introduced H.R. 3733, a bipartisan bill that would guarantee nursing home residents’ right to critical in-person support from up to two essential caregivers, even during a pandemic.  The essential caregivers are designated by the resident or the resident’s representative and would have up to 12 hours of access to the resident each day.  

Assemblymember Muratsuchi’s bill to temporarily halt evictions from nursing homes (SNFs) and intermediate care facilities (ICFs) during the pandemic state of emergency will soon face a vote on the Assembly floor—in the face of strong resistance from industry lobbyists. AB 279 would prohibit the owner of an ICF or SNF from involuntarily transferring a resident to another facility, during any declared state of emergency relating to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), except if the owner files for bankruptcy.

Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi’s bill to prevent involuntary discharges during the pandemic Please support AB 279 (Muratsuchi), sponsored by California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, which would prohibit certain long term care resident evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill will be heard on April 13th, so it is important to submit your letters of support no later than noon on April 7th.