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Bill
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Title I — Home care bill of rights

S. 998 · 113th Congress · May 21, 2013 · Lineage

I Home care bill of rights

Sec. 101 Administration on aging

Section 201(e)(2) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3011(e)(2)) is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (A), by striking “and” at the end;
(2)
in subparagraph (B), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:

“(C) to establish best practices for State-based enforcement of a Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights through a Plan for Enforcement, as such Bill and Plan are outlined in section 705, not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of the Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights Act, and to make those best practices available to States, and to the public through the National Center on Elder Abuse;

“(D) to assist States with the development of Home Care Consumer Bills of Rights and Plans for Enforcement, to support the shift from institutional care to home and community-based long-term services and supports and ensure that home care consumers, as defined in section 736, have basic protections as outlined in subsections (b) and (c) of section 705;

“(E) to develop a process for review and approval of States’ Home Care Consumer Bills of Rights and Plans for Enforcement, not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of the Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights Act; and

“(F) to review and approve States’ Home Care Consumer Bills of Rights and Plans for Enforcement through that process.”

Sec. 102 Additional State plan requirements

(a)
In general— Section 705 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3058d) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in paragraph (6), by striking “and” at the end;
(B)
in paragraph (7), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:

“(8) subject to section 102(b) of the Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights Act, an assurance—

“(A) that the State has a Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights and a Plan for Enforcement of such a Bill, developed in accordance with the procedures described under paragraph (2) and as approved by the Assistant Secretary, and include a copy of the Bill and Plan; or

“(B) at the discretion of the Assistant Secretary, in the event the State does not have an approved Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights and Plan for Enforcement, that the State has an alternative such as a proposal for developing and submitting for approval a Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights and Plan for Enforcement.”

(2)
by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (d);
(3)
by inserting after subsection (a) the following:

“(b) Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights—The Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights referred to in subsection (a)(8) shall, at a minimum—

“(1) address a home care consumer’s right to basic safety by—

“(A) affirming that home care consumers are protected from physical, sexual, mental, and verbal abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including financial exploitation;

“(B) affirming that home care consumers are served by providers who are properly trained and are providing home care services within their scope of practice and the scope of their certification or licensure (if such a certification or licensure is required by the applicable State);

“(C) affirming that such providers maintain the confidentiality of all personal, financial, and medical information of home care consumers; and

“(D) affirming that providers respect the personal property of home care consumers, and in the event of consumer reports of theft or loss, investigate and report back to the consumer the results of the investigation;

“(2) address a home care consumer’s right to access information by—

“(A) affirming that home care consumers are informed of their rights under this subsection and subsection (c) within 2 weeks after the start of home care services, and about the entities the consumers may contact if their rights are violated, including the name and contact information for State and local agencies responsible for enforcing the Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights;

“(B) affirming that home care consumers—

“(i) are informed of the cost of home care services prior to receiving those services, whether the cost of those services are covered under health insurance, long-term care insurance, or other private and public programs, and any charges the consumer will be expected to pay; and

“(ii) are given advance notice of any changes to those costs or services; and

“(C) affirming that home care consumers have access to information about the availability of the home care services provided in the community involved and have the ability to choose among home care services and providers of home care services available in the community;

“(3) address a home care consumer’s right to choice, participation, and self-determination by—

“(A) affirming that home care consumers can participate in the planning of their home care services, including making choices about aspects of their care and services that are important to them, choosing providers and schedules to the extent practicable, receiving reasonable accommodation of their needs and preferences, and involving anyone they chose to participate with them in that planning;

“(B) affirming that home care consumers are provided with sufficient information to make informed decisions, are fully informed in advance about any proposed changes in care and services, and are involved in the decisionmaking process regarding those changes; and

“(C) affirming that home care consumers can refuse services and receive an explanation of the consequences of doing so;

“(4) address a home care consumer’s right to receive care and services provided in a way that promotes each consumer’s dignity and individuality;

“(5) address a home care consumer’s right to redress grievances by—

“(A) affirming that home care consumers are able to voice grievances about the quality of their home care services, the number of hours of service, and violations of their rights, receive prompt responses to those concerns, and are informed about the entities the consumers may contact to state those grievances in order to have the grievances addressed in an appropriate and timely manner, and without retaliation; and

“(B) affirming that home care consumers are able to assert their rights under this subsection and subsection (c) without retaliation;

“(6) address the role and responsibilities that fiduciaries may have in securing the rights of home care consumers affirmed under the Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights; and

“(7) meet any other guidelines determined to be appropriate by the Assistant Secretary.

“(c) Plan for enforcement—In developing the Plan for Enforcement referred to in subsection (a)(8), the State shall take into account the best practices established under section 201(e)(2)(C). The Plan shall include a description of how State entities with a role in protecting older individuals, such as home care services licensing agencies, adult protective services agencies, the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman (if the office has jurisdiction over home and community-based long-term care), local law enforcement agencies, and other entities determined to be appropriate by the Assistant Secretary, will coordinate activities to enforce the Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights.”

(4)
by adding at the end the following:

“(e) Definition—In this section, the term home care consumer and home care services have the meanings given the terms in section 736.”

(b)
Application of requirement To submit State home care consumer bill of rights and plan for enforcement—
(1)
In general— The requirement for a State to provide an assurance, and either a Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights and a Plan for Enforcement of such Bill or an alternative, under paragraph (8) of section 705(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (as added by subsection (a)) shall apply to States beginning on the date (referred to in this subsection as the application date) that is 1 year after the date of the establishment of best practices under section 201(e)(2)(C) of such Act (as added by section 101).
(2)
First submission after application date— A State shall comply with paragraph (8) of section 705(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (as added by subsection (a)) in whichever of the following 2 submissions occurs first with respect to such State after the application date described under paragraph (1):
(A)
The submission of a new State plan under section 307 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3027).
(B)
The submission of an annual revision to a State plan submitted under such section 307.
(3)
Ongoing submissions— After complying with paragraph (8) of section 705(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (as added by subsection (a)) in a submission in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection, a State shall comply with such paragraph (8) in each new State plan submitted under section 307 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3027).

Sec. 103 Prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation

Section 721(b) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3058i(b)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (11), by striking “and” at the end;
(2)
in paragraph (12), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:

“(13) developing a State Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights and Plan for Enforcement (as described in section 705) to protect home care consumers (as defined in section 736) from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.”

Sec. 104 National adult protective services resource center

Section 201 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3011) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(g)

“(1) The Assistant Secretary shall, by grant or contract with a national nonprofit entity, establish a National Adult Protective Services Resource Center (referred to in this subsection as the Center). The purposes of the Center are to improve the capacity of State and local adult protective services programs to respond effectively to abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults, including home care consumers and residents of long-term care facilities, and to coordinate with the Home Care Ombudsman Program and Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to protect home care consumers and residents most effectively.

“(2) The nonprofit entity awarded a grant or contract under this subsection shall have expertise in, and representation by, State and local adult protective services programs.

“(3) The Center shall—

“(A) collect and disseminate information regarding, and increase public awareness of, the role of adult protective services programs in investigating the abuse, neglect (including self-neglect), and exploitation of vulnerable adults, including home care consumers and residents of long-term care facilities, and in intervening to protect the consumers and residents from abuse;

“(B) develop, distribute, and provide training and technical assistance for adult protective services program investigators and supervisors investigating the abuse, neglect (including self-neglect), and exploitation of vulnerable adults, including home care consumers and residents of long-term care facilities, and intervening to protect the consumers and residents from further abuse;

“(C) develop, distribute, and provide training to home care and long-term care professionals and others on recognizing, reporting (including regarding mandatory reporting requirements), and responding to the abuse, neglect (including self-neglect), and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults, including home care consumers and residents of long-term care facilities;

“(D) compile and disseminate reports on research and best practices for adult protective services programs and other programs on effective responses to the abuse, neglect (including self-neglect), and exploitation of vulnerable adults, including home care consumers and residents of long-term care facilities;

“(E) work with the National Ombudsman Resource Center and State and local home care ombudsman programs and long-term care ombudsman programs to develop and disseminate training, practice standards, and policies regarding—

“(i) the roles and responsibilities of adult protective services and ombudsman programs;

“(ii) confidentiality and abuse reporting issues and protocols; and

“(iii) effective ways to maximize the resources of adult protective services programs for the benefit of home care consumers and residents of long-term care facilities; and

“(F) establish a data system to collect information on the abuse, neglect (including self-neglect), and exploitation of home care consumers and residents of long-term care facilities and to measure the effectiveness of the activities carried out by the Center.

“(4) In this subsection, the terms home care consumer and home care ombudsman program have the meanings given the terms in section 736.”