By If submitting electronically, please copy the text below, and we encourage you to add your personal stories and perspective to it. If submitting by mail you can DOWNLOAD A WORD FILE to edit and print out. Your support letter can be sent via email to leg.unit@gov.ca.gov Honorable Governor Gavin Newsom1021 O Street, Suite 9000Sacramento, California 95814 sent via email to leg.unit@gov.ca.gov RE: AB 48 (Aguiar-Curry) – Request for Signature Dear Governor Newsom: Please sign AB 48, a very important bill to protect nursing facility residents from the excessive use of psychotropic drugs. Despite dangerous side effects, condemnation by care providers, and a decade-long national and state campaign to reduce the inappropriate use of psychotropic drugs in nursing homes, well over half of California nursing home residents are being given psychotropic drugs. The rate of psychotropic drug use in nursing homes has alarmingly increased since the pandemic, as more facilities have turned to sedating drugs to control and manage residents. Ten years after a California Department of Public Health initiative found that 63% of surveyed facilities violated residents’ informed consent rights, informed consent violations remain routine and pervasive.
AB 48 (Aguiar-Curry): Nursing Facility Resident Informed Consent Protection Act of 2023
Despite dangerous side effects, condemnation by care providers, and a decade-long national and state campaign to reduce the inappropriate use of psychotropic drugs in nursing homes, the U.S. Office of Inspector General recently found that 80% of long-stay nursing home residents are receiving psychotropic drugs. A big reason why so many residents are drugged is that they are never given information about the risks, benefits, and alternatives to psychotropic drugs and the choice to refuse them. AB 48 will better ensure that residents are given the right information and meaningful choice.
Support AB-48: Honorable Governor Gavin Newsom
Despite dangerous side effects, condemnation by care providers, and a decade-long national and state campaign to reduce the inappropriate use of psychotropic drugs in nursing homes, the U.S. Office of Inspector General recently found that 80% of long-stay nursing home residents are receiving psychotropic drugs. A big reason why so many residents are drugged is that they are never given information about the risks, benefits, and alternatives to psychotropic drugs and the choice to refuse them.
AB 1309 (Gómez Reyes): Nursing Home Eviction Protection
AB 1309 would require nursing homes to include the same level of detail to justify a resident eviction that is required of RCFEs. Requiring this additional information will enable residents to better defend against inappropriate and unsafe evictions on appeal. Nursing homes are already required to comprehensively document their basis for evicting residents; AB 1309 requires that the facilities share some of this information with the residents.
AB 1309 Sample Support Letter – Governor
If submitting electronically, please copy the text below, and we encourage you to add your personal stories and perspective to it. If submitting by mail you can DOWNLOAD A WORD FILE to edit and print out. Your support letter can be sent via email to leg.unit@gov.ca.gov Honorable Governor Gavin Newsom1021 O Street, Suite 9000Sacramento, California 95814 sent via email to leg.unit@gov.ca.gov RE: AB 1309 (Gómez Reyes) – Request for Signature Dear Governor Newsom: I write to you in support of AB 1309, a bill that would help curtail the epidemic of unsafe evictions from California nursing homes.
Support AB-1309: Honorable Governor Gavin Newsom
AB 1309 would require nursing homes to include the same level of detail to justify a resident eviction that is required of RCFEs. Requiring this additional information will enable residents to better defend against inappropriate and unsafe evictions on appeal. Nursing homes are already required to comprehensively document their basis for evicting residents; AB 1309 requires that the facilities share some of this information with the residents.
AB 979 Sample Support Letter – Governor
If submitting electronically, please copy the text below, and we encourage you to add your personal stories and perspective to it. If submitting by mail you can DOWNLOAD A WORD FILE to edit and print out. Your support letter can be sent via email to leg.unit@gov.ca.gov Honorable Governor Gavin Newsom1021 O Street, Suite 9000Sacramento, California 95814 sent via email to leg.unit@gov.ca.gov RE: AB 979 (Alvarez) – Request for Signature Dear Governor Newsom: I write to you in support of AB 979, a bill that would facilitate the formation and maintenance of family councils in long term care facilities. Family councils are critically important to supporting family members and residents and maintaining high quality care in long term care facilities.
Support AB-979: Honorable Governor Gavin Newsom
AB 979 modernizes existing family council laws, so that members can meet and communicate electronically and continue to operate during a public health emergency. The bill ensures that facilities will be more responsive to concerns raised by family councils, discourages operators from undermining family council activities, and clarifies that control of the family council membership and participation in meetings lies with the family council itself.
AB 979 (Alvarez): Strengthening Family Councils in Long Term Care Facilities
AB 979 modernizes existing family council laws, so that members can meet and communicate electronically and continue to operate during a public health emergency. The bill ensures that facilities will be more responsive to concerns raised by family councils, discourages operators from undermining family council activities, and clarifies that control of the family council membership and participation in meetings lies with the family council itself. AB 979 also harmonizes family council protections in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, which is long overdue.
Support AB-1309: Chairperson, Senate Health Committee
AB 1309 would require nursing homes to include the same level of detail to justify a resident eviction that is required of RCFEs. Requiring this additional information will enable residents to better defend against inappropriate and unsafe evictions on appeal. Nursing homes are already required to comprehensively document their basis for evicting residents; AB 1309 requires that the facilities share some of this information with the residents.
Support AB-979: Chairperson, Senate Health Committee
AB 979 modernizes existing family council laws, so that members can meet and communicate electronically and continue to operate during a public health emergency. The bill ensures that facilities will be more responsive to concerns raised by family councils, discourages operators from undermining family council activities, and clarifies that control of the family council membership and participation in meetings lies with the family council itself.
SB 263 (Dodd): Insurance: Annuity & Life Insurance Consumer Protections
CANHR supported the initial March 7, 2023, version of SB 263, which would have protected vulnerable seniors from potential financial abuses in the sale of annuity and insurance products. However, the April 17, 2023, amended version of SB 263 substantially weakened the bill by limiting its scope and gutting its standard of care. The latest version of the bill would harm consumers for the following reasons.
SB 43 (Eggman): Behavioral Health
This bill expands the definition of “gravely disabled” to also include a condition that will result in substantial risk of serious harm to the physical or mental health of a person due to a mental health disorder or a substance use disorder. Status: Re-referred to Committee on Judiciary CANHR was part of a Coalition Oppose Letter you can read here.
SB 232 (Niello): Mental Health Services: Gravely Disabled
Attempts to change a key element of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, the landmark 1967 legislation that ended the involuntary institutionalization of people with severe mental-health issues. Under this proposal, the definition of what constitutes a “gravely disabled” person would be amended to include homeless persons who are unable to care for themselves. Status: Referred to Committees on Health and Judiciary
SB 774 (Jones & Grove): Nonprofit Health Facilities: Sale of Assets: Attorney General Approval: Conditional Consent
Would severely limit the authority of California’s Attorney General to protect access and affordability of hospital services provided by most hospitals in California. This would in turn impact healthcare costs for Californians, including members of the small business community who already struggle with access to affordable care. Status: Set for hearing 4/12/23.
SB 875 (Glazer): Referral source for residential care facilities for the elderly: duties
This bill would recast the requirements on a placement agency and its employees to instead be requirements on a referral source, defined to mean any specified county department, stated-funded program, agency, or person that is engaged in identifying senior housing options at residential care facilities for the elderly. Status: Set for hearing 4/17/23.
SB 299 (Eggman): Medi-Cal Eligibility: Redetermination
This bill would delete the requirement that county eligibility workers automatically terminate an individual’s Medi-Cal coverage when mail is returned to the county as undeliverable. Status: Set for hearing 4/10/23.
SB 525 (Durazo): Minimum Wage: Health Care Workers
SB 525 will raise to $25 the minimum wage for the lowest paid healthcare workers including those who provide services in nursing, caregiving, housekeeping, security, clerical, food services, laundry, and other patient-care related services. Status: Re-referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R. Set for hearing on 4/12/23. Read CANHR’s Support Letter.
AB 1537 (Wood): Skilled Nursing Facilities: Direct Care Spending Requirements
This bill would require by July 1, 2024, the establishment of a direct patient-related services spending, reporting, and rebate requirement for skilled nursing facilities, with exceptions. Would require that a minimum of 85% of a facility’s total non-Medicare health revenues from all payer sources in each fiscal year be expended on residents’ direct patient-related services, as defined.
AB 1536 (Carillo & Santiago): Cash Assistance Program for Aged, Blind, and Disabled Immigrants
Would expand eligibility for the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) program to aged, blind, and disabled individuals regardless of immigration status if the individual meets the eligibility criteria for the program and is not eligible solely due to their immigration status. Status: Re-referred to Committee on Appropriations