HB 186: "An Act allowing the disclosure of reports with regard to inspection and investigations of certain health care facilities, home health agencies, hospice programs, and assisted living homes; authorizing the Department of Health and Social Services to license home health agencies; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 186 01 "An Act allowing the disclosure of reports with regard to inspection and 02 investigations of certain health care facilities, home health agencies, hospice 03 programs, and assisted living homes; authorizing the Department of Health and 04 Social Services to license home health agencies; and providing for an effective 05 date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 18.18 is amended by adding a new section to read: 08 Sec. 18.18.350. Disclosure of information. (a) The department shall make 09 reports concerning inspections and investigations of a hospice program it licenses in 10 this chapter, including statements of deficiencies and approved plans of correction, 11 available to the public within 14 calendar days after the information is made available 12 to the hospice program being reviewed. 13 (b) The department may not publicly disclose information that identifies clients 14 of the program under review.
01 * Sec. 2. AS 18.20.090 is repealed and reenacted to read: 02 Sec. 18.20.090. Disclosure of information. (a) The department shall make 03 reports concerning annual inspections and investigations of the facilities or entities it 04 licenses in this chapter, including statements of deficiencies and approved plans of 05 correction, available to the public within 14 calendar days after the information is 06 made available to the facility or entity being reviewed. 07 (b) The department may not publicly disclose information that identifies 08 patients or clients of the facility or entity under review. 09 * Sec. 3. AS 18.28 is amended by adding new sections to read: 10 Article 2. Home Health Agencies. 11 Sec. 18.28.110. Purpose; applicability. (a) The purpose of AS 18.28.110 - 12 18.28.190 is to promote safe and adequate home health services for individuals by 13 setting standards for home health agencies that will ensure quality of care, safeguard 14 patient's rights, and otherwise protect public health, safety, and welfare. 15 (b) AS 18.28.110 - 18.28.190 and the regulations adopted under those sections 16 apply to agencies for which licensure is required under AS 18.28.130. 17 Sec. 18.28.120. Powers of department. The department may 18 (1) license home health agencies; 19 (2) inspect applicants and licensees, including subunits and branches 20 of the licensee, and persons that the department reasonably believes are operating an 21 agency without a license in violation of this chapter; 22 (3) consistent with the purposes identified in AS 18.28.110, adopt 23 regulations to implement AS 18.28.110 - 18.28.190, including regulations establishing 24 licensure and renewal procedures, inspection procedures, standards, fees, and 25 requirements for operation of home health agencies; 26 (4) accept accreditation by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation 27 of Health Organizations or another national accreditation organization recognized by 28 the department in lieu of an inspection of a home health agency by the department for 29 the year in which the accreditation was granted if the accreditation standards are 30 substantially similar to the inspection standards of the department. 31 Sec. 18.28.130. License required. (a) An entity that establishes, conducts,
01 or represents itself to the public as a home health agency must have a license from the 02 department authorizing it to be a home health agency under AS 18.28.110 - 18.28.190. 03 (b) A parent agency or subunit of a home health agency must be located in the 04 state. Each subunit must independently meet the requirements of this section and be 05 issued a separate license. A branch office of the parent agency or of one of its 06 subunits is not required to independently meet the requirements for licensure. 07 Sec. 18.28.140. Application for license. Application for a license to operate 08 a home health agency shall be made to the department on a form provided by the 09 department and shall be accompanied by applicable fees established by the department 10 under AS 18.28.120. 11 Sec. 18.28.150. Issuance and renewal of license. (a) Upon receipt of an 12 application for license and the license fee, the department shall issue a license if the 13 applicant meets the requirements established under AS 18.28.110 - 18.28.190. If the 14 applicant does not meet the requirements established under AS 18.28.110 - 18.28.190 15 but makes continued efforts to comply with them, the department may grant a 16 temporary or provisional license for a limited period of time. 17 (b) Each license issued is for the person, agency, corporation, partnership, 18 association, or other form of organization named on the application and is not 19 transferable or assignable except with the written approval of the department. 20 (c) The department shall establish the standards for license renewal and 21 determine the renewal period by regulation. 22 (d) A license is not renewable if it has been suspended or revoked under 23 AS 18.28.160. 24 Sec. 18.28.160. Denial, suspension, or revocation of license. (a) The 25 department may deny, change to a provisional license, or revoke a home health agency 26 application or license if the department finds that the agency 27 (1) has endangered or would endanger the health, safety, or welfare of 28 a patient; 29 (2) has a history of deficiencies in quality of care; 30 (3) has had a license to operate a home health agency revoked in any 31 licensing jurisdiction;
01 (4) has been convicted of operating a home health agency without a 02 license in any licensing jurisdiction; 03 (5) lacks a sufficient number of personnel who have the training, 04 experience, or judgment to provide adequate patient care; 05 (6) has committed fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or dishonesty 06 associated with the application for or operation of a home health agency in any 07 licensing jurisdiction; or 08 (7) has violated regulations adopted under AS 18.28.110 - 18.28.190. 09 (b) The department may, without a hearing, summarily suspend a home health 10 agency license if it finds that the actions or deficiencies of the agency cause an 11 immediate and serious threat to the public health, safety, or welfare. A summary 12 suspension remains in effect until the department finds that the actions or deficiencies 13 are corrected or the license is revoked. 14 (c) The department may, without a hearing, change a home health agency 15 license to a provisional license for a period of time established by the department if 16 the department finds that an agency is temporarily unable to comply with 17 AS 18.28.110 - 18.28.190 or is in the Medicare decertification process, but is taking 18 the appropriate steps necessary to bring the agency into compliance. An agency 19 holding a provisional license may not accept new patients. If the agency fails to 20 correct its deficiencies within the provisional license period, the department shall 21 revoke that agency's license. 22 (d) Application denial and revocation actions by the department shall be 23 conducted under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act). 24 Sec. 18.28.170. Disclosure of information. (a) The department shall make 25 reports concerning inspections and investigations of home health agencies it licenses 26 in this chapter, including statements of deficiencies and approved plans of correction, 27 available to the public within 14 calendar days after the information is made available 28 to the home health agency being reviewed. 29 (b) The department may not publicly disclose information that identifies 30 patients or clients of the home health agency under review. 31 Sec. 18.28.190. Definitions. In AS 18.28.110 - 18.28.190,
01 (1) "branch" means an office location from which a home health 02 agency provides service within a portion of the total geographic area served by the 03 parent home health agency and that is sufficiently close in geographic proximity to the 04 parent home health agency that it shares administration, supervision, and services on 05 a daily basis; 06 (2) "department" means the Department of Health and Social Services; 07 (3) "geographic area" means the location, site, or address of the clients 08 served by the parent home health agency or its parents or subunits; 09 (4) "home health agency" means a public agency or private 10 organization, or a subdivision of a public agency or private organization, that primarily 11 engages in providing skilled nursing services in combination with physical therapy, 12 occupational therapy, speech therapy, or services provided by a home health aide to 13 individuals in the individual's home, an assisted living home, or another residential 14 setting; 15 (5) "parent home health agency" means a licensed home health agency, 16 which may have branches or subunits; 17 (6) "subdivision" means a component of a multi-function home health 18 agency, such as the home care division of a hospital or the nursing division of a health 19 agency, that independently meets the requirements for a licensure as a home health 20 agency; 21 (7) "subunit" means a home health agency that provides services 22 beyond the geographic area served by the parent home health agency and is unable to 23 share administration, supervision, and services on a daily basis with the parent home 24 health agency. 25 * Sec. 4. AS 47.33.520(e) is amended to read: 26 (e) Except as otherwise provided in AS 47.33.500(c), 27 (1) a completed investigation report [REPORTS] and a response 28 [RESPONSES] from a home [HOMES] are public records ; and 29 (2) the licensing agency shall make reports concerning inspections 30 and investigations of a home it licenses in this chapter, including statements of 31 deficiencies and approved plans of correction, available to the public within 14
01 calendar days after the information is made available to the home being reviewed . 02 * Sec. 5. TRANSITION. A department affected by this Act may proceed to adopt 03 regulations necessary to implement this Act. Regulations to implement a provision of this Act 04 take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date 05 of sec. 3 of this Act. 06 * Sec. 6. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION. In AS 18.28.040, 18.28.050, and 18.28.100, the 07 revisor shall substitute "AS 18.28.010 - 18.28.100" for "this chapter." 08 * Sec. 7. Section 5 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).