BILL NUMBER: S8490

SPONSOR: SANDERS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the posting of
additional 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 ratings for health
inspections, staffing and quality measures pursuant to the inspection
rating system of the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid 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 Department of Health
and the Nursing Home Facility's own website.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 requires each nursing home facility to post its overall CMS
              

rating and ratings for health inspections, staffing and quality measures
on the homepage of any website maintained by such facility and on any
website or webpage relating to such facility maintained by an entity
which owns or operates such facility. Each nursing home shall also
conspicuously post its most recent overall CMS rating and ratings for
health inspections, staffing and quality measures so that it is visible
to the general public and to 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.

Last year, a law was in enacted in New York to require nursing homes to
post the overall CMS rating. This bill requires nursing homes to also
post the recent ratings for health inspections, staffing and quality
measures to provide more complete information to the consumer.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

De minimis

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