BILL NUMBER: S553

SPONSOR: SANDERS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to publication of
nursing home ratings

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to provide that every nursing home facility
in the state display prominently the most recent star rating pursuant to
the inspection rating system of the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medi-
caid Services (CMS), to allow consumers, their families, and caregivers
to easily compare facilities based upon their assigned ratings. These
ratings will also be required to be displayed prominently on the Depart-
ment of Health and the Nursing Home Facility's own website.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the Public Health law by adding a new section 2808-e to
              

require the commissioner to provide that the most recent CMS ratings be
displayed prominently On the department website, as well as on the Nurs-
ing Home Facility's own website and at the facility where it should be
visible to the general public and its residents.

Section 2 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Family members often do not have the resources or skills necessary to
properly care for their elderly loved ones. In these cases, the only
solution is to trust professional nursing facilities to provide the care
their loved ones need. It can be an emotionally strenuous processes for
families to come. to this conclusion, which can make choosing the right
facility all the more difficult.

Unfortunately, nursing facilities do not provide the same level of care,
and it can be extremely complicated for families to properly compare
facilities based on their loved one's needs. A 2003 congressional report
that examined nursing home records conducted over a two-year period
showed that nearly 1 in 3 nursing homes were cited for violations that
had the potential to cause harm. However shocking, this news was neither
new when reported nor changed since.  With the rise of publicly avail-
able data, family members should have the ability to go into the nursing
home selection process well informed. Information can bring great
emotional ease and expedition to the process of picking a long-term,
out-of-home care, facility for their loved ones.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services established a five-star
rating system, in which nursing home ratings can be easily and readily
understood. In times of crisis, these ratings can be difficult to find.

If ratings and information are not easily accessible, the information
they provide cannot be helpful or effective. This bill would make these
ratings readily available so that families seeking nursing facilities
can make an informed decision in the best interests of their loved ones.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Undetermined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the nineteenth day after it shall have
become a law