Nursing Home Transparency and Quality of Care Improvement Act of 2008

Bill: 110-hr-7128
Sponsor: Rep. Stark, Fortney Pete [D-CA-13]
Introduced: 2008-09-26 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Allied health services
Business records
Civil actions and liability
Computers and information technology
Congressional oversight
Employee benefits and pensions
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health care quality
Health facilities and institutions
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicaid
Medical education
Medicare
Neurological disorders
State and local government operations
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: 
Nursing Home Transparency and Quality of Care Improvement Act of 2008 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to direct skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and nursing facilities to make available, upon request, ownership and additional disclosable parties information to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and other responsible parties.
 
Outlines accountability requirements for such institutions.
 
Requires specified additional information to appear on the Department of Health and Human Services Nursing Home Compare Website.
 
Requires SNFs to separately report expenditures for wages and benefits for direct care staff. 
 
Directs the Secretary to develop a standardized form for use by a resident (or a person acting on the resident's behalf) in filing a complaint about a SNF with a state survey and certification agency or long-term care ombudsman program. Requires a state to establish a complaint resolution process. 
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a program for SNFs and nursing facilities to report direct care staffing information based on payroll and other verifiable and auditable data.
 
Increases certain civil monetary penalties for SNF and nursing facility violations.
 
Directs the Secretary to evaluate the potential benefit and feasibility of applying independent monitoring requirements to interstate and large intrastate chains of SNFs and nursing facilities. 
 
Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on best practices for, and barriers to, the appointment of temporary management for SNFs with a record of poor care.
 
Requires a an individual SNF license holder to notify the Secretary and other responsible parties of an impending closure of the facility. 
 
Directs the Secretary to conduct demonstration projects on culture change and use of information technology in SNFs and nursing facilities.
 
Directs the Secretary, among requirements for the approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs, to include requirements for dementia management training and patient abuse prevention training. 
 
Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on training for certified nurse aides and supervisory staff of SNFs and nursing facilities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-28
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2100-2101)
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Introduced in House