FEDERAL LEGISLATION
The following information was provided by : The Elder Justice Coalition
A National Advocacy Voice for Elder Justice in America
John B. Breaux, Honorary Chair Robert B. Blancato, National Coordinator
ELDER JUSTICE ACT SUMMARY
Authorizes $757 million over 4 years for the Elder Justice Act.
Establishes an Elder Justice Coordinating Council to make recommendations to the Secretary of HHS on the coordination of activities of Federal, State, local and
private agencies and entities relating to elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. Recommendations contained in report due in 2 years.
Establishes a 27 member Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation. They are to submit a report within 18 months to create a short and long-term multidisciplinary strategic plan for the developing field of elder justice.
Adult Protective Services (APS) funding. Provides $400 million in first-time dedicated funding for adult protective services. Provides $100 million for state demonstration
grants to test a variety of methods to detect and prevent elder abuse.
Provides $26 million for establishment and support of Elder Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Forensic Centers to develop forensic expertise regarding and provide
services relating to, elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Provides $32.5 million in grants to support the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and an additional $40 million in training programs for national organizations and
State long-term care ombudsman programs.
Authorizes $67.5 million in grants to enhance long-term care staffing through training and recruitment and incentives for individuals seeking or maintaining employment
in long-term care, either in a facility or a community based long-term care entity.
Authorizes $48 million for a National Training Institute for Surveyors.
Requires the immediate reporting to law enforcement of crimes in a long-term care facility and establishes civil monetary penalties for failure to report.
Provides for penalties for long-term care facilities that retaliate against an employee for filing a complaint against or reporting a long-term care facility that violates
reporting requirements.
Authorizes a $500,000 study on establishing a national nurse aide registry.
Authorizes $15 million for the Department of Health and Human Services to improve data collection and dissemination, develop and disseminate information related to
best practices related to adult protective services and to conduct research related to APS.
Establishes a nationwide program for national and state background checks on direct patient access employees of long-term care facilities, and provides $160 million
in funding.
Related Provisions in the Finance Committee Bill
Provisions in S.795 related to additional reporting of data on CMS’s Nursing Home Compare (e.g. crimes in facilities) were moved to the section of the bill dealing with
nursing home transparency requirements (S.647.)
Provisions in S.631 to create a national program of criminal background checks for nursing home employees (a part of the original Elder Justice Act) were included in
the Finance Committee bill.
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Elder Justice Coalition
Elder Justice Coalition Update-October 2009
Elder Justice and Health Care Reform
Later this week or early next week, the Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on its massive health care reform bill.
The Finance bill includes the Elder Justice Act (S. 795) thanks to the efforts of Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT.) The Coalition and Senate staffs
are working on final language changes with input from the Obama Administration. The bill also contains language from S. 631, the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act
sponsored by Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), expanding to all states a pilot program to allow criminal background checks to be performed on individuals seeking employment in
nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. This language was added to the bill by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI.) The bill also contains important new language on
nursing home transparency. The Elder Justice Act is referenced on P. 89 and the nursing home transparency and criminal background checks
language is referenced on P. 215-221.
Following the vote in the Finance Committee, its health care reform bill will be merged with an earlier version passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee (HELP). This bill does not contain elder justice act language. Our help is needed to ensure elder justice provisions remain in the final health care bill.
The members of the Senate HELP Committee are listed below. Those with * are currently co-sponsors of the Elder Justice Act. The EJC will contact all these Senators
in the coming days to urge them to support elder justice in health care reform. We urge our members who are represented by any of these Senators to also contact them
with this simple message:
“Keep Elder Justice in the final Senate health care reform bill. Support the effort to provide a stronger federal response to the growing problem of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Finally, support allowing states to perform criminal background checks on individuals seeking employment in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.”
Lisa Murkowski (AK) John McCain (AZ) Michael Bennett (CO) Christopher Dodd (CT) Johnny Isakson (GA)
Tom Harkin (IA) Pat Roberts (KS) Barbara A. Mikulski (MD)* Al Franken (MN) Richard Burr (NC)
Kay Hagan (NC) Judd Gregg (NH) Jeff Bingaman (NM) Sherrod Brown (OH)* Tom Coburn, M.D. (OK)
Jeff Merkley (OR) Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA) Jack Reed (RI)* Lamar Alexander (TN) Orrin G. Hatch (UT)*
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT) Patty Murray (WA) Michael B. Enzi (WY)*
We would appreciate being informed if contact is made with any of these Senators. Please contact Shannon at elderjustice@verizon.net.
A final vote in the Senate on health care reform is expected later this month or in November
Elder Justice Coalition Update-October 13, 2009
Senate Finance Committee Vote and Elder Justice
The Senate Finance Committee by a vote of 14-9 passed its version of a health care reform bill earlier this afternoon. Included in this bill was the Elder Justice Act as a result of the work of Senators Blanche Lincoln and Orrin Hatch. The bill includes more than $600 million over 4 years for a variety of purposes including a first time dedicated funding stream for adult protective services. The Finance bill also contains the so-called criminal background check language as contained in legislation sponsored by Senator Herb Kohl and offered as an amendment by Senator Debbie Stabenow. It would expand an existing seven state pilot program nationally which would allow states to conduct criminal background checks on persons seeking employment in nursing homes.
This is an important development in the process of getting Elder Justice passed by the 111th Congress. There are a number of steps which will follow and additional advocacy information will follow in later reports. Also a more detailed summary of the bill will follow in a later report.