ENROLLED
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Regular Session, 2010
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 94
BY REPRESENTATIVE RICHARD
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To suspend until final adjournment of the 2011 Regular Session of the Legislature of
Louisiana the provisions of R.S. 37:1033(A)(2) and (3), 1033(F), and 1034(3),
relative to Direct Service Workers; to suspend the provisions of Sections 9201
through 9293 of Chapter 92 of Part I of Title 48 of the Louisiana Administrative
Code, relative to the Direct Service Worker Registry; and to urge the Department of
Health and Hospitals to establish a stakeholder workgroup.
WHEREAS, Act No. 306 of the 2005 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana
authorized the Department of Health and Hospitals (hereafter referred to as the department)
to implement a Direct Service Worker Registry; and
WHEREAS, despite the department's best efforts with inadequate staffing, the
registry has been plagued by delays in posting names to the registry, thereby compromising
the main purpose of the registry which is to identify workers who are negligent, abusive,
exploitive, or have extorted funds from the persons they serve; and
WHEREAS, the state budget crisis has resulted in repeated cuts to providers
necessitating the elimination of costly duplicative regulatory provisions and cost-prohibitive
medication attendant training; and
WHEREAS, while over forty-three thousand individuals have been placed on the
registry, only fifty-seven persons have been flagged for allegations of neglect, abuse,
exploitation, or extortion; and
WHEREAS, with an estimated cost to providers of all enrolled of over fifteen million
dollars annually and a cost to the department of approximately two hundred thousand dollars
annually, this registry is clearly not a cost-effective way to achieve the original legislative
intent; and ENROLLEDHCR NO. 94
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WHEREAS, training and other costs providers incur to comply with the requirements
of the registry are not reimbursed, thus reducing the financial and manpower resources
available to provide services to the elderly and persons with developmental disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the registry as currently structured does not have the ability to protect
individuals with a developmental disability and the elderly in a timely manner and does not
list findings until the individual has exhausted all legal remedies available to them; and
WHEREAS, there exists a backlog of seven months at the state level in entering
trained workers' records onto the registry after their forms have been submitted by providers,
which could allow an unsatisfactory employee to remain continuously employed by staying
with different employers for periods of less than seven months; and
WHEREAS, proposed medication administration regulations will add significant
training costs to providers which are not reimbursable despite the fact that there are other
medication administration models in other states which are working well, are less costly, and
should be considered; and
WHEREAS, the department has indicated its intent to tie billing for services to the
registry, and with the current prolonged backlog in getting an individual's record entered into
the registry, a provider would thus be unable to receive payment for services timely and
experience a significant cash flow problem as a result; and
WHEREAS, records included in the registry regarding required training, medication
administration, billing, abuse and neglect reporting, minimum qualifications of Direct
Service Workers, and the use of relatives as caregivers are duplicative of many existing
policies and other regulations; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of this Resolution is to allow the Department of Health and
Hospitals time to work with stakeholders to eliminate duplicative regulations and streamline
the Direct Service Worker Registry process.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
suspend the provisions of R.S. 37:1033(A)(2) and (3), 1033(F), and 1034(3), relative to
Direct Service Workers, and does hereby suspend the provisions of Sections 9201 through
9293 of Chapter 92 of Part I of Title 48 of the Louisiana Administrative Code, relative to the
Direct Service Worker Registry. ENROLLEDHCR NO. 94
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the suspension of R.S. 37:1033(A)(2) and (3),
1033(F), and 1034(3), relative to Direct Service Workers, shall become effective upon
adoption of this Resolution and shall extend through final adjournment of the 2011 Regular
Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the suspension of Sections 9201 through 9293
of Chapter 92 of Part I of Title 48 of the Louisiana Administrative Code, relative to the
Direct Service Worker Registry, shall become effective upon adoption of this Resolution and
shall extend until the publication date of a new rule regarding the Direct Service Worker
Registry.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the publication of such rule regarding the Direct
Service Worker Registry shall occur on or before January 1, 2011.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that on or before February 1, 2011, the Department
of Health and Hospitals shall submit a written report to the House and Senate committees
on health and welfare which details its findings and conclusions regarding the Direct Service
Worker Registry.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health and Hospitals is
hereby urged to establish a stakeholder workgroup to consult with the department prior to
publication of a new rule regarding the Direct Service Worker Registry.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE