Bill Text: CA AB1280 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1280 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: California Hospice Licensure Act of 1990.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-10-04 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 478, Statutes of 2021. [AB1280 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB1280-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly March 18, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1280

Introduced by Assembly Member Irwin

February 19, 2021

An act to ~~amend Section 1747 of~~ add Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 1746.50) and Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 1751.100) to Chapter 8.5 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hospice.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1280, as amended, Irwin. California Hospice Licensure Act of 1990.

(1) The California Hospice Licensure Act of 1990 generally requires a person, political subdivision of the state, or other governmental agency to obtain a license from the State Department of Public Health to provide hospice to an individual who is experiencing the last phase of life due to a terminal disease and their family, except as provided. The act imposes criminal penalties on any person who violates any provision of the act or any rule or regulation promulgated under the act.
This bill would prohibit a hospice patient recruiter, defined to include an employee of a hospice facility, a hospice patient, or a family member of a hospice patient, from receiving, directly or indirectly, any form of payment in exchange for referring a patient to a federally funded or nonfederally funded provider of hospice or hospice facility. The bill would require a licensee to provide a patient and their representative with all information relating to the hospice intake process in both the spoken and written form and in a language and manner that the patient and their representative understand. The bill would further require a licensee to conduct, document, and retain a written comprehensive assessment for each patient that separately identifies, among other things, the patient’s need for hospice care and services. The bill would require the person conducting the assessment to sign that they believe the assessment is accurate under the penalty of perjury. By expanding the general crime applicable for a violation of the act and the crime of perjury, this bill would expand the scope of existing crimes, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the California Hospice Licensure Act of 1990, provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Public Health of persons or agencies that provide hospice services to a person, and the family of a person, who is experiencing the last phase of life due to a terminal disease. The act prohibits a person, political subdivision of the state, or other governmental agency from establishing or operating a hospice without first obtaining a license.
~~This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NOYES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 1746.50) is added to Chapter 8.5 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

Article 1.5. Hospice Patient Referral
1746.50.
A hospice patient recruiter shall not receive, directly or indirectly, any form of payment in exchange for referring a patient to a federally funded or nonfederally funded provider of hospice or hospice facility.
1746.52.
For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Hospice patient recruiter” means an individual including, but not limited to, an employee of a hospice facility, a hospice patient, or a family member of a hospice patient, who refers a patient to a federally funded or nonfederally funded provider of hospice or hospice facility.
(b) “Payment” means anything of value, including, but not limited to, remuneration, cash, or gift cards.

SEC. 2.

Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 1751.100) is added to Chapter 8.5 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

Article 2.5. Hospice Patient Care
1751.100.
A licensee shall provide a patient and their representative with all information relating to the hospice intake process, including, but not limited to, the hospice election statement and any addendums, in both the spoken and written form and in a language and manner that the patient and their representative understand.
1751.102.
(a) A licensee shall conduct, document, and retain a written comprehensive assessment for each patient that separately identifies all of the following:
(1) The patient’s need for hospice care and services.
(2) The patient’s need for physical, psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual care.
(3) The strategy for palliation and management of the patient’s terminal illness and related conditions.
(b) The person conducting the assessment shall sign the assessment under the penalty of perjury that they believe the assessment is accurate.

SEC. 3.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SECTION 1.Section 1747 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
1747.
~~(a)A person, political subdivision of the state, or other governmental agency shall not establish or operate a hospice without first obtaining a license under this chapter.~~
(b)A person, political subdivision of the state, or other governmental agency, that is operating a hospice as of January 1, 1991, may continue to operate the hospice only under the following conditions:
(1)The person, political subdivision of the state, or other governmental agency shall apply to the state department for a license under this chapter within 60 days after forms for the application of licensure under this chapter are available from the state department.
(2)The person, political subdivision of the state, or other governmental agency shall cease calling or referring to itself as a hospice upon the final decision of the director upholding the state department’s denial of an application for licensure under this chapter.
~~(c)This chapter does not preclude the ongoing use of the title “volunteer hospice” by those organizations that satisfy all of the following:~~
~~(1)They do not provide skilled nursing services.~~
~~(2)They do not charge patients or families for hospice services, and they do not receive third-party insurance payments for services rendered.~~
~~(3)They satisfy the disclosure requirements specified in subdivision (c) of Section 1748.~~
(d)A small and rural hospice is exempt from the licensing provisions of this chapter and the disclosure requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 1748. A small and rural hospice may provide skilled nursing services and may use the title “volunteer hospice.”
(e)For purposes of this chapter, a “small and rural hospice” means a hospice that provides services to less than 50 patients per year, does not charge for services, does not receive third-party payment for services rendered, and is not located in a standard metropolitan statistical area.