General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1054
January Session, 2021 LCO No. 4531
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A STATE HOME HEALTH AND HOSPICE
OMBUDSMAN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
1 Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) There is established an
2 independent ombudsman office within the Department of Public Health
3 to receive concerns and complaints concerning home health care and
4 hospice care and make recommendations to the Commissioners of
5 Public Health and Social Services for resolving such concerns and
6 complaints.
7 (b) The Commissioner of Public Health shall appoint a State Home
8 Health and Hospice Ombudsman who shall be selected from among
9 individuals with expertise and experience in home health care and
10 hospice care. In the event the State Home Health and Hospice
11 Ombudsman is unable to fulfill the duties of the office, the
12 commissioner shall appoint an acting State Home Health and Hospice
13 Ombudsman.
14 (c) The State Home Health and Hospice Ombudsman shall serve on
15 a full-time basis, and shall:
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16 (1) Identify, investigate and make recommendations to address
17 concerns and resolve complaints relating to (A) home health care,
18 including, but not limited to, the Connecticut home-care program for
19 the elderly established pursuant to section 17b-342 of the general
20 statutes; and (B) an organization licensed as a hospice by the
21 Department of Public Health in accordance with section 19a-122b of the
22 general statutes;
23 (2) Ensure that persons receiving home health care or hospice care,
24 and their representatives, have regular and timely access to the services
25 provided through the ombudsman's office and receive timely responses
26 from the office;
27 (3) Analyze, comment on and monitor the development and
28 implementation of federal, state and local laws, regulations, and other
29 governmental policies and actions that pertain to home health care and
30 hospice care; and
31 (4) Recommend any changes in such laws, regulations, policies and
32 actions as the office determines to be appropriate.
33 (d) Not later than January 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the State
34 Home Health and Hospice Ombudsman shall file a report, in
35 accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes,
36 with the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having
37 cognizance of matters relating to human services and public health on
38 (1) the number of complaints or concerns received by the ombudsman,
39 (2) the resolution of such complaints and concerns, and (3)
40 recommendations to (A) improve outreach to persons receiving home
41 health care and hospice care; and (B) expeditiously address concerns
42 and resolve complaints received from such persons.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 New section
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Statement of Purpose:
To appoint a state ombudsman to monitor and respond to complaints
and concerns regarding home health care and hospice care.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
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