97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB5134

 

Introduced 2/8/2012, by Rep. David R. Leitch

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
210 ILCS 45/3-212  from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 4153-212

    Amends the Nursing Home Care Act. Requires the Department of Public Health to adopt rules to establish a process for independent third party investigation of a long-term care facility's complaint about Department employees or individuals acting on behalf of the Department in making an inspection, survey, or evaluation under the Act. Requires the rules to include necessary and appropriate protections to ensure that a person filing a complaint in good faith does not suffer any adverse effect on account of having done so. Effective January 1, 2013.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Nursing Home Care Act is amended by changing
5Section 3-212 as follows:
 
6    (210 ILCS 45/3-212)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 4153-212)
7    Sec. 3-212. Inspection.
8    (a) The Department, whenever it deems necessary in
9accordance with subsection (b), shall inspect, survey and
10evaluate every facility to determine compliance with
11applicable licensure requirements and standards. Submission of
12a facility's current Consumer Choice Information Report
13required by Section 2-214 shall be verified at time of
14inspection. An inspection should occur within 120 days prior to
15license renewal. The Department may periodically visit a
16facility for the purpose of consultation. An inspection,
17survey, or evaluation, other than an inspection of financial
18records, shall be conducted without prior notice to the
19facility. A visit for the sole purpose of consultation may be
20announced. The Department shall provide training to surveyors
21about the appropriate assessment, care planning, and care of
22persons with mental illness (other than Alzheimer's disease or
23related disorders) to enable its surveyors to determine whether

 

 

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1a facility is complying with State and federal requirements
2about the assessment, care planning, and care of those persons.
3    (a-1) An employee of a State or unit of local government
4agency charged with inspecting, surveying, and evaluating
5facilities who directly or indirectly gives prior notice of an
6inspection, survey, or evaluation, other than an inspection of
7financial records, to a facility or to an employee of a
8facility is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
9    An inspector or an employee of the Department who
10intentionally prenotifies a facility, orally or in writing, of
11a pending complaint investigation or inspection shall be guilty
12of a Class A misdemeanor. Superiors of persons who have
13prenotified a facility shall be subject to the same penalties,
14if they have knowingly allowed the prenotification. A person
15found guilty of prenotifying a facility shall be subject to
16disciplinary action by his or her employer.
17    If the Department has a good faith belief, based upon
18information that comes to its attention, that a violation of
19this subsection has occurred, it must file a complaint with the
20Attorney General or the State's Attorney in the county where
21the violation took place within 30 days after discovery of the
22information.
23    (a-2) An employee of a State or unit of local government
24agency charged with inspecting, surveying, or evaluating
25facilities who willfully profits from violating the
26confidentiality of the inspection, survey, or evaluation

 

 

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1process shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony and that conduct
2shall be deemed unprofessional conduct that may subject a
3person to loss of his or her professional license. An action to
4prosecute a person for violating this subsection (a-2) may be
5brought by either the Attorney General or the State's Attorney
6in the county where the violation took place.
7    (b) In determining whether to make more than the required
8number of unannounced inspections, surveys and evaluations of a
9facility the Department shall consider one or more of the
10following: previous inspection reports; the facility's history
11of compliance with standards, rules and regulations
12promulgated under this Act and correction of violations,
13penalties or other enforcement actions; the number and severity
14of complaints received about the facility; any allegations of
15resident abuse or neglect; weather conditions; health
16emergencies; other reasonable belief that deficiencies exist.
17    (b-1) The Department shall not be required to determine
18whether a facility certified to participate in the Medicare
19program under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, or the
20Medicaid program under Title XIX of the Social Security Act,
21and which the Department determines by inspection under this
22Section or under Section 3-702 of this Act to be in compliance
23with the certification requirements of Title XVIII or XIX, is
24in compliance with any requirement of this Act that is less
25stringent than or duplicates a federal certification
26requirement. In accordance with subsection (a) of this Section

 

 

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1or subsection (d) of Section 3-702, the Department shall
2determine whether a certified facility is in compliance with
3requirements of this Act that exceed federal certification
4requirements. If a certified facility is found to be out of
5compliance with federal certification requirements, the
6results of an inspection conducted pursuant to Title XVIII or
7XIX of the Social Security Act may be used as the basis for
8enforcement remedies authorized and commenced, with the
9Department's discretion to evaluate whether penalties are
10warranted, under this Act. Enforcement of this Act against a
11certified facility shall be commenced pursuant to the
12requirements of this Act, unless enforcement remedies sought
13pursuant to Title XVIII or XIX of the Social Security Act
14exceed those authorized by this Act. As used in this
15subsection, "enforcement remedy" means a sanction for
16violating a federal certification requirement or this Act.
17    (c) Upon completion of each inspection, survey and
18evaluation, the appropriate Department personnel who conducted
19the inspection, survey or evaluation shall submit a copy of
20their report to the licensee upon exiting the facility, and
21shall submit the actual report to the appropriate regional
22office of the Department. Such report and any recommendations
23for action by the Department under this Act shall be
24transmitted to the appropriate offices of the associate
25director of the Department, together with related comments or
26documentation provided by the licensee which may refute

 

 

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1findings in the report, which explain extenuating
2circumstances that the facility could not reasonably have
3prevented, or which indicate methods and timetables for
4correction of deficiencies described in the report. Without
5affecting the application of subsection (a) of Section 3-303,
6any documentation or comments of the licensee shall be provided
7within 10 days of receipt of the copy of the report. Such
8report shall recommend to the Director appropriate action under
9this Act with respect to findings against a facility. The
10Director shall then determine whether the report's findings
11constitute a violation or violations of which the facility must
12be given notice. Such determination shall be based upon the
13severity of the finding, the danger posed to resident health
14and safety, the comments and documentation provided by the
15facility, the diligence and efforts to correct deficiencies,
16correction of the reported deficiencies, the frequency and
17duration of similar findings in previous reports and the
18facility's general inspection history. Violations shall be
19determined under this subsection no later than 90 days after
20completion of each inspection, survey and evaluation.
21    (d) The Department shall maintain all inspection, survey
22and evaluation reports for at least 5 years in a manner
23accessible to and understandable by the public.
24    (e) Revisit surveys. The Department shall conduct a revisit
25to its licensure and certification surveys, consistent with
26federal regulations and guidelines.

 

 

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1    (f) The Department shall adopt rules to establish a process
2for independent third party investigation of a facility's
3complaint about the conduct of Department employees or
4individuals acting on behalf of the Department in making an
5inspection, survey, or evaluation under this Act. The rules
6shall include at least the following:
7        (1) The process for selecting and contracting with the
8    independent third party.
9        (2) The process by which a facility may file a
10    complaint with the independent third party.
11        (3) The process by which the independent third party
12    shall receive and investigate complaints.
13        (4) The extent of the independent third party's
14    authority to resolve complaints.
15        (5) Necessary and appropriate protections to ensure
16    that a person filing a complaint in good faith does not
17    suffer any adverse effect on account of having done so.
18(Source: P.A. 95-823, eff. 1-1-09; 96-1372, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
201, 2013.