Preventing Abuse and Neglect of Vulnerable Americans Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5897 To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make certain information available on a public website relating to intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities certified for participation under the Medicaid program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 13, 2020 Mr. GALLEGO (for himself and Mr. O’HALLERAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make certain information available on a public website relating to intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellec- tual disabilities certified for participation under the Med- icaid program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Abuse and 4 Neglect of Vulnerable Americans Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5897.IH H5897 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5897 IH SEC. 2. REQUIRING THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND 1 HUMAN SERVICES TO MAKE CERTAIN INFOR- 2 MATION AVAILABLE ON A PUBLIC WEBSITE 3 RELATING TO INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILI- 4 TIES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL 5 DISABILITIES CERTIFIED FOR PARTICIPA- 6 TION UNDER THE MEDICAID PROGRAM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1910 of the Social Secu- 8 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396i) is amended by adding at the 9 end the following new subsection: 10 ‘‘(c) Not later than 2 years after the date of the en- 11 actment of this subsection, the Secretary shall, in order 12 to increase transparency, include on the official internet 13 website of the Federal Government for Medicaid bene- 14 ficiaries, with respect to each intermediate care facility de- 15 scribed in subsection (b) eligible to participate in the pro- 16 gram established under this title, the following informa- 17 tion in a manner that is posted in a prominent location, 18 updated on a timely basis, easily accessible, readily under- 19 standable to consumers of services for individuals with in- 20 tellectual disabilities, and searchable: 21 ‘‘(1) Information regarding the performance of 22 such facility, including— 23 ‘‘(A) results from the 3 most recent sur- 24 veys conducted with respect to such facility 25 under the State survey and certification proc- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5897.IH H5897 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5897 IH ess, including any standard or condition-level 1 deficiencies identified during such surveys and 2 any administrative actions or citations taken as 3 a result of such surveys; 4 ‘‘(B) any finding, with respect to any such 5 deficiencies identified during such surveys, that 6 such a deficiency immediately jeopardized the 7 health or safety of residents of such facility; 8 ‘‘(C) the 3 most recent Form 2567 (or a 9 successor form) State inspection reports and a 10 description of how an individual may interpret 11 such reports; and 12 ‘‘(D) any plan of correction or other re- 13 sponse of such facility to such reports. 14 ‘‘(2) The standardized complaint form devel- 15 oped under section 1128I(f), including explanatory 16 material on what complaint forms are, how they are 17 used, and how to file a complaint with the State sur- 18 vey and certification program and the State long- 19 term care ombudsman program. 20 ‘‘(3) Summary information on the number, 21 type, severity, and outcomes of substantiated com- 22 plaints.’’. 23 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDIZED COMPLAINT 24 FORM.—Section 1128I of the Social Security Act (42 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5897.IH H5897 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5897 IH U.S.C. 1320a–7j) is amended by adding at the end the 1 following new subsection: 2 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS TO IN- 3 TERMEDIATE CARE FACILITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH 4 INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES.—In applying subsection 5 (f), beginning 1 year after the date of the enactment of 6 this subsection, each reference to a ‘facility’ shall be 7 deemed to include an intermediate care facility described 8 in section 1905(d).’’. 9 SEC. 3. ADVISORY COUNCIL ON INTERMEDIATE CARE FA- 10 CILITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLEC- 11 TUAL DISABILITIES. 12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 14 and Human Services (in this section referred to as the 15 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish the Advisory Council on Inter- 16 mediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual 17 Disabilities (in this section, referred to as the ‘‘Advisory 18 Council’’). 19 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Council shall 21 consist of such members as appointed by the Sec- 22 retary. In making such appointments, the Secretary 23 shall ensure that the Advisory Council includes rep- 24 resentatives of the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5897.IH H5897 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5897 IH (A) Individuals with disabilities. 1 (B) Family members of individuals with 2 disabilities. 3 (C) The National Association of State Di- 4 rectors of Developmental Disabilities Services. 5 (D) The American Health Care Associa- 6 tion. 7 (E) The American Network of Community 8 Options and Resources. 9 (F) States, including State survey agen- 10 cies. 11 (G) The National Quality Forum (or such 12 other standard-setting organization specified by 13 the Secretary). 14 (2) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Advisory Council 15 shall be appointed by the Secretary from among the 16 members selected under paragraph (1) and described 17 in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of such para- 18 graph. 19 (c) DUTIES.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Council shall 21 develop recommendations on steps that intermediate 22 care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabil- 23 ities may take to prevent abuse, neglect, and exploi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5897.IH H5897 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5897 IH tation, which may include recommendations relating 1 to the following: 2 (A) Staff training requirements. 3 (B) Creation of pamphlets or other mate- 4 rials to share with families to help them iden- 5 tify potential warning signs of abuse, neglect, 6 and exploitation. 7 (C) Creation of materials to share with 8 families on the process of how to file a com- 9 plaint when abuse, neglect, or exploitation is 10 suspected. 11 (D) Ways to address caregiver burnout 12 and stress. 13 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In the development of 14 recommendations under paragraph (1), the Advisory 15 Council shall take into account data and practices 16 related to intermediate care facilities for individuals 17 with intellectual disabilities, which may include the 18 following: 19 (A) Survey data related to abuse, neglect, 20 and exploitation citations. 21 (B) Current programs being utilized by in- 22 termediate care facilities for individuals with in- 23 tellectual disabilities related to abuse, neglect, 24 and exploitation prevention. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5897.IH H5897 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5897 IH (C) Current practices for providing trans- 1 parency to consumers of intermediate care facil- 2 ity for individuals with intellectual disabilities 3 services and their families when incidents occur. 4 (D) State requirements for providers of in- 5 termediate care facility for individuals with in- 6 tellectual disabilities services related to abuse, 7 neglect, and exploitation, including— 8 (i) reporting requirements; 9 (ii) data tracking; and 10 (iii) resolution of reports of abuse, ne- 11 glect, or exploitation, including those re- 12 ports that were not substantiated. 13 (3) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT INFORMATION 14 AND REQUEST TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Advi- 15 sory Council may secure directly from the Secretary 16 upon request such information or technical assist- 17 ance as the Advisory Council considers necessary to 18 carry out this section. 19 (d) REPORT.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Advisory 22 Council shall submit to the Secretary, the Com- 23 mittee on Finance and the Special Committee on 24 Aging of the Senate, and the Committee on Ways 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5897.IH H5897 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5897 IH and Means and the Committee on Energy and Com- 1 merce of the House of Representatives, a report con- 2 taining any recommendations developed under sub- 3 section (c)(1), together with recommendations for 4 such legislation and administrative action as the Ad- 5 visory Council determines appropriate. 6 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Upon receiving the 7 report described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 8 shall make such report public. 9 (e) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Council shall ter- 10 minate upon the submission of the report to the Secretary 11 under subsection (d)(1). 12 SEC. 4. PERMITTING MEDICARE AND MEDICAID PRO- 13 VIDERS TO ACCESS THE NATIONAL PRACTI- 14 TIONER DATA BANK TO CONDUCT EMPLOYEE 15 BACKGROUND CHECKS. 16 Section 1921(b)(6) of the Social Security Act (42 17 U.S.C. 1396r–2(b)(6)) is amended— 18 (1) by striking ‘‘and other health care entities 19 (as defined in section 431 of the Health Care Qual- 20 ity Improvement Act of 1986)’’ and inserting ‘‘, 21 other health care entities (as defined in section 431 22 of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 23 1986), providers of services (as defined in section 24 1861(u)), suppliers (as defined in section 1861(d)), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5897.IH H5897 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5897 IH and providers of items or services under a State plan 1 under this title (or a waiver of such a plan)’’; and 2 (2) by striking ‘‘such hospitals or other health 3 care entities’’ and inserting ‘‘such hospitals, health 4 care entities, providers, or suppliers’’. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5897.IH H5897 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS