An Act To Increase Patient Choice in Health Care Facilities and Health Care Settings
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0447
Committee Amendment CA_A_S122 (Senate)
Amends: 22 MRSA §1831

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 179, L.D. 447, Bill, "An Act To 
Increase Patient Choice in Health Care Facilities and Health Care Settings" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1831, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 337, § 1, is amended to read: 
§1831. Patient referrals 
1. Provision of information. In order to provide for infonned patient or resident 
decisions, a hospital or nursing facility shall provide fl.sts a standardized list of licensed 
providers of care and services and available physicians for all patients or residents prior 
to discharge for whom home health care, hospice care, acute rehabilitation care, a hospital 
swing bed as defined in section 328, subsection 15 or nursing care is needed. The list 
must include a clear and conspicuous notice of the rights of the patient or resident 
regarding choice of providers. 
A. For all patients or resid<mts requiring home health care or hospice care, the list 
must include all licensed home health care and hospice providers that request to be 
listed and any branch offices, including addresses and phone numbers, that serve the 
area in which the patient or n~sident resides. 
B. For all patients or residents requiring nursing facility care or a hospital swing bed, 
the list must include all fH:H=siftg appropriate facilities that request to be listed that 
serve the area in which the patient or resident resides or wishes to reside and the 
physicians available within those facilities that request to be listed. 
C. The hospital or nursing facility shall disclose to the patient or resident any direct 
or indirect financial interest the hospital or nursing facility has in the nursing facility 
or home health care provider. 
2. Rulemaking. The department shall establish by rule guidelines necessary to carry 
out the purposes of this section, including but not limited to the standardized list 
referenced in subsection 1 and .:;ontact infonnation for the 10ng-tenn care ombudsman 
COMMI1-TEE AMENDMENT 
~,. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'A .. to S.P. 179, L.D. 447 
\" 
program under section 5107 -A Rules adopted under this section are routine technical 
rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter H-A 2-A 
Sec. 2. 
Rules regarding the responsibilities of medical directors in 
nursing facilities. The Department of Health and Human Services shall amend its rules 
regarding licensure of nursing facilities, Rule Chapter 110, chapter 16, to require that the 
responsibilities of a facility's medical director include ongoing guidance in the 
development and implementation of resident care policies, including review and revision 
of existing policies as required in the guidelines for nursing facilities issued by the United 
States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services. The rules must require all facilities, including those that are corporately owned, 
to be able to demonstrate that the development, review and approval of resident care 
policies or procedures provide opportunity for medical director input. Rules adopted 
pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined by the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill. The amendment adds hospital swing beds, acute 
rehabilitation care and hospice providers to the list of providers covered by the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 1831. 
The amendment requires distribution of a 
standardized list of licensed providers and physicians in the relevant settings and notice 
of patient rights and of how to contact the long-term care ombudsman program. The 
amendment requires the Department of Health and Human Services to amend its rules on 
medical directors in nursing facilities to include among the responsibilities of the medical 
director ongoing guidance in the development and implementation of resident care 
policies, including review and revision of existing policies. The amended rules must 
require that the facility, including a facility that is corporately owned, be able to show 
that its development, review and approval of resident care policies or procedures include 
the opportunity for the medical director's input. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
• 
Approved: 05/13/13 
hac::.. 
LD447 
LR 1360(02) 
An Act To Increase Patient Choic.~ in Health Care Facilities and Health Care Settings 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 1\'& "12J-) 
Committee: Health and Human Services 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Additional costs to the Department of Health and Human Services are expected to be minor and can be absorbed 
within existing budgeted resources. 
LRI360(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1