§ 3616. Provision of certified home health agency services, long term
home health care programs and AIDS home care programs. 1. A long term
home health care program shall be provided only to those patients who
are medically eligible for placement in a hospital or residential health
care facility. An AIDS home care program shall be provided only to
persons who are medically eligible for placement in a hospital or
residential health care facility and who (a) are diagnosed by a
physician as having acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or (b) are
deemed by a physician, within his judgment, to be infected with the
etiologic agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and whose
illness, infirmity or disability can be reasonably ascertained to be
associated with such infection. Provision of certified home health
agency services, a long term home health care program or an AIDS home
care program paid for by government funds shall be based upon, but not
limited to, a comprehensive assessment that shall include, but not be
limited to, an evaluation of the medical, social and environmental needs
of each applicant for such services or program. This assessment shall
also serve as the basis for the development and provision of an
appropriate plan of care for the applicant. In cases in which the
applicant is a patient in a hospital or residential health care
facility, the assessment shall be completed by persons designated by the
commissioner, including, but not limited to, the applicant's physician,
the discharge coordinator of the hospital or residential health care
facility referring the applicant, a representative of the local
department of social services, and a representative of the provider of a
long term home health care program, AIDS home care program, or the
certified home health agency that will provide services for the patient.
In cases in which the applicant is not a patient in a hospital or
residential health care facility, the assessment shall be completed by
persons designated by the commissioner including, but not limited to,
the applicant's physician, a representative of the local department of
social services and a representative of the provider of a long term home
health care program, AIDS home care program or the certified home health
agency that will provide services for the patient. The assessment shall
be completed prior to or within thirty days after the provision of
services begins. Payment for services provided prior to the completion
of the assessment shall be made only if it is determined, based upon
such assessment, that the recipient qualifies for such services. The
commissioner shall prescribe the forms on which the assessment will be
made.

2. Continued provision of a long term home health care program, AIDS
home care program or certified home health agency services paid for by
government funds shall be based upon a comprehensive assessment of the
medical, social and environmental needs of the recipient of the
services. Such assessment shall be performed at least every one hundred
eighty days by the provider of a long term home health care program,
AIDS home care program or the certified home health agency providing
services for the patient and the local department of social services,
and shall be reviewed by a physician charged with the responsibility by
the commissioner. The commissioner shall prescribe the forms on which
the assessment will be made.

3. Prior to the initial provision of services, and upon the continued
provision of services pursuant to each complete reassessment, the agency
shall present the recipient or the recipient's representative with a
standardized written statement prepared by the department, in
consultation with providers of home care services and consumer
representatives, which informs the recipient or representative that the
services to be provided are subject to change in accordance with a
change in the recipient's needs, a change in information about the
recipient's needs and/or about the formal and informal services
available to meet such needs. The statement shall further inform the
recipient or representative that such notification and acknowledgement
is for purposes of consumer information and education, and to establish
and maintain proper understanding and expectations about the possible
course of care to be provided by the agency.