Connecticut 2016 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00278 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 278
2	2	February Session, 2016 LCO No. 1765
3	3	01765_______HS_
4	4	Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
5	5	Introduced by:
6	6	(HS)
7	7
8	8	General Assembly
9	9
10	10	Raised Bill No. 278
11	11
12	12	February Session, 2016
13	13
14	14	LCO No. 1765
15	15
16	16	01765_______HS_
17	17
18	18	Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
19	19
20	20	Introduced by:
21	21
22	22	(HS)
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24	24	AN ACT CONCERNING NURSING HOME FACILITY MINIMUM STAFFING LEVELS.
25	25
26	26	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
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28	28	Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, (1) "nursing home facility" means a chronic and convalescent nursing home, and (2) "nursing staff" means registered and licensed practical nurses licensed pursuant to chapter 378 of the general statutes and nurse's aides registered pursuant to chapter 378a of the general statutes.
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30	30	(b) On and after October 1, 2016, each nursing home facility shall have sufficient nursing staff available on site to maintain a daily minimum staffing ratio of not less than two and three-tenths nursing staff hours per resident.
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32	32	(c) If any nursing home facility experiences increased costs or expenditures due to compliance with the provisions of this section, the Department of Social Services shall adjust such facility's Medicaid rates and provide payment for any such costs or expenditures within a reasonable period of time and retroactive to the date of such increased costs or expenditures.
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34	34	(d) The Commissioner of Public Health shall adopt or amend regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the provisions of this section. Such regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, (1) the establishment of a requirement for nursing home facilities to record the number of nursing staff hours available on site to provide direct care to residents, and (2) a definition of the term "direct care".
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36	36	Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2016) (a) For purposes of this section: (1) "Full-time" means forty hours per week; (2) "qualified social worker" means a person who holds at least a bachelor's degree in social work from a college or university that was accredited by the Council on Social Work Education at the time of his or her graduation and has at least one year social work experience in a health care facility; (3) "nursing home facility" has the same meaning as provided in section 1 of this act; and (4) "social work designee" means a person with at least an associate's degree in a human services field or anyone employed in a nursing home facility as a social work designee as of January 1, 1989.
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38	38	(b) Nursing home facilities shall provide the following minimum number of qualified social worker or social work designee hours per week, in the aggregate, for the period commencing with the effective date of this section until September 30, 2020: (1) Ten hours for one to twenty licensed beds; (2) twenty hours for twenty-one to forty licensed beds; (3) thirty hours for forty-one to sixty licensed beds; (4) forty hours for sixty-one to eighty licensed beds; and (5) ten additional hours for every additional twenty licensed beds or fraction thereof over eighty licensed beds.
39	39
40	40	(c) On and after October 1, 2020, nursing home facilities shall provide the following minimum number of qualified social worker or social work designee hours per week, in the aggregate: (1) Ten hours for every fifteen licensed beds, and (2) one full-time qualified social worker for every sixty licensed beds.
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45	45	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
46	46	Section 1 from passage New section
47	47	Sec. 2 July 1, 2016 New section
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49	49	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
50	50
51	51	Section 1
52	52
53	53	from passage
54	54
55	55	New section
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57	57	Sec. 2
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59	59	July 1, 2016
60	60
61	61	New section
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63	63	Statement of Purpose:
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65	65	To ensure sufficient nursing and social work staff is available to provide care to nursing home facility residents.
66	66
67	67	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]