SB 779: Skilled nursing facilities: certified nurse assistant staffing.

(1)Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Public Health of health facilities, including skilled nursing facilities. Existing law requires the department to develop regulations that become effective August 1, 2003, that establish staff-to-patient ratios for direct caregivers working in a skilled nursing facility. Existing law requires that these ratios include separate licensed nurse staff-to-patient ratios in addition to the ratios established for other direct caregivers. Existing law also requires every skilled nursing facility to post information about staffing levels in the manner specified by federal requirements. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for any person to willfully or repeatedly violate these provisions.

This bill would require the department to develop regulations that become effective July 1, 2016, and include a minimum overall staff-to-patient ratio that includes specific staff-to-patient ratios for certified nurse assistants and for licensed nurses that comply with specified requirements. The bill would require the posted information to include a resident census and an accurate report of the number of staff working each shift and to be posted in specified locations, including an area used for employee breaks. The bill would require a skilled nursing facility to make staffing data available, upon oral or written request and at a reasonable cost, within 15 days of receiving a request. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)Existing law generally requires that skilled nursing facilities have a minimum number of nursing hours per patient day of 3.2 hours.

This bill would substitute the term direct care service hours for the term nursing hours and, commencing July 1, 2016, except as specified, increase the minimum number of direct care service hours per patient day to 4.1.

(3)Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions.

Existing law, the Medi-Cal Long-Term Care Reimbursement Act, operative until August 1, 2015, requires the department to make a supplemental payment to skilled nursing facilities based on specified criteria and according to performance measure benchmarks. Existing law requires the department to establish and publish quality and accountability measures, which are used to determine supplemental payments. Existing law requires, beginning in the 201112 fiscal year, the measures to include, among others, compliance with specified nursing hours per patient per day requirements.

This bill would also require, beginning in the 201617 fiscal year, the measures to include compliance with specified direct care service hour requirements for skilled nursing facilities. The bill would make this provision contingent on the Medi-Cal Long-Term Care Reimbursement Act being operative on January 1, 2016.

(4)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.