Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents and Workers During COVID–19 and Beyond Act

Bill: 117-hr-598
Sponsor: Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]
Introduced: 2021-01-28 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Adult education and literacy
Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Employee hiring
Employment and training programs
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Executive agency funding and structure
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health care costs and insurance
Health care quality
Health facilities and institutions
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Home and outpatient care
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Judicial review and appeals
Labor-management relations
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicaid
Medicare
Neurological disorders
Nursing
Prescription drugs
State and local government operations
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2021-01-28
text: 

Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents and Workers During COVID-19 and Beyond Act

 
This bill modifies several requirements for Medicare skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and Medicaid nursing facilities (NFs) to address the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) and the overall standard and administration of care in such facilities.
 
Specifically, during the public health emergency, SNFs and NFs must comply with specified quality of care, worker safety, and transparency requirements, subject to civil penalties. Requirements include (1) testing residents and employees for COVID-19 weekly or before shifts, respectively, and reporting any lack of available testing kits on a daily basis; (2) providing at least two weeks of paid sick leave to each employee; and (3) reporting the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, including demographic information, on a daily basis.
 
The bill also establishes general requirements for SNFs and NFs with respect to minimum staffing levels and protections for whistleblowers and residents, subject to civil penalties, as well as training requirements for nurses. It also requires specific consent procedures in relation to the administration of certain psychotropic drugs and prohibits the use of pre-dispute arbitration agreements in such facilities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-02
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2021-01-28
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2021-01-28
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: 2021-01-28
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: 2021-01-28
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2021-01-28
text: Introduced in House