LCO No. 4531 1 of 3
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1054
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 4531
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A STATE HOME HEALTH AND HOSPICE
OMBUDSMAN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) There is established an 1
independent ombudsman office within the Department of Public Health 2
to receive concerns and complaints concerning home health care and 3
hospice care and make recommendations to the Commissioners of 4
Public Health and Social Services for resolving such concerns and 5
complaints. 6
(b) The Commissioner of Public Health shall appoint a State Home 7
Health and Hospice Ombudsman who shall be selected from among 8
individuals with expertise and experience in home health care and 9
hospice care. In the event the State Home Health and Hospice 10
Ombudsman is unable to fulfill the duties of the office, the 11
commissioner shall appoint an acting State Home Health and Hospice 12
Ombudsman. 13
(c) The State Home Health and Hospice Ombudsman shall serve on 14
a full-time basis, and shall: 15 Raised Bill No. 1054
LCO No. 4531 2 of 3
(1) Identify, investigate and make recommendations to address 16
concerns and resolve complaints relating to (A) home health care, 17
including, but not limited to, the Connecticut home-care program for 18
the elderly established pursuant to section 17b-342 of the general 19
statutes; and (B) an organization licensed as a hospice by the 20
Department of Public Health in accordance with section 19a-122b of the 21
general statutes; 22
(2) Ensure that persons receiving home health care or hospice care, 23
and their representatives, have regular and timely access to the services 24
provided through the ombudsman's office and receive timely responses 25
from the office; 26
(3) Analyze, comment on and monitor the development and 27
implementation of federal, state and local laws, regulations, and other 28
governmental policies and actions that pertain to home health care and 29
hospice care; and 30
(4) Recommend any changes in such laws, regulations, policies and 31
actions as the office determines to be appropriate. 32
(d) Not later than January 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the State 33
Home Health and Hospice Ombudsman shall file a report, in 34
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, 35
with the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having 36
cognizance of matters relating to human services and public health on 37
(1) the number of complaints or concerns received by the ombudsman, 38
(2) the resolution of such complaints and concerns, and (3) 39
recommendations to (A) improve outreach to persons receiving home 40
health care and hospice care; and (B) expeditiously address concerns 41
and resolve complaints received from such persons. 42
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 New section
Raised Bill No. 1054
LCO No. 4531 3 of 3
Statement of Purpose:
To appoint a state ombudsman to monitor and respond to complaints
and concerns regarding home health care and hospice care.
[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.]