BILL NUMBER: S6448
SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to creating a nursing
home resident quality and safety study; and providing for the repeal of
such provisions upon expiration thereof
 
PURPOSE:
Creates a nursing home resident quality and safety study.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Establishes the nursing home resident quality and safety
study.
Provides relevant definitions.
Sets forth that a method for nursing homes to apply for participation in
the study must be provided while using certain selection criterion
(region, occupancy rate, ensuring participation by non-profit/public
facilities, the size of a facility in terms of beds, and the ratings of
a facility).
Data from participating facilities must be categorized. Participating
facilities will be divided evenly into a control group and an inter-
vention group, with different expectations from each group.
A demonstration team must perform all tasks necessary for the completion
of the study.
Staff in nursing homes throughout the state will receive training in the
frailty index methodology.
Certain timelines are set forth, including when applications for partic-
ipation will be accepted; selection for participating facilities; the
demonstration team's collection of data set data; when the demonstration
team must complete the frailty index methodology training; when the
demonstration team must implement the frailty index methodology; when
the year-one report must be provided to the Governor, the Senate Majori-
ty Leader, and the Speaker of the Assembly; the end date of the study;
and the due date for the final report.
Provides that commissioner will be authorized to use funds from the
federal civil money penalty reinvestment program for the purposes.of
this section.
Section 2: Sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Legislature finds the need to conduct a demonstration to evaluate
the impact of using a globally recognized frailty score-based methodol-
ogy on resident outcomes and provider quality in nursing homes in New
York State.
Frailty includes the following elements: a global standard of clinical
risk, a measure of vulnerability and risk, the accumulation of chronic
illnesses and the loss of function and/or cognition and is characterized
by sudden declines and diminished recovery from illness or trauma.
Frailty risk score reliably predicts adverse outcomes including risk of
hospitalization, length of stay, pharmacy/lab costs, mortality, and
clinical outcomes: wounds, falls, delirium, mortality, weight loss,
etc., which can help prioritize the use of resources and supports for
the resident. Frailty risk assessment and scoring is internationally
validated for more than a quarter of a century and is used by National
Health Systems in Canada, Australia, China, and the United Kingdom as
well as in California and a growing number of states.
The demonstration authorized under this legislation would include an
intervention group comprised of residential care facilities that volun-
teer and will receive training and use the frailty risk assessment plat-
form; and a control group that continue to operate under the status quo
to allow for comparison. Demonstration will assure there is geographical
balance in the residential healthcare facilities as well as accounting
for bed size, affiliation with hospital/health system, ownership type,
occupancy and star rating.
The success of the demonstration will be evaluated based on an interim
report and a final report. The reports will be submitted to Governor,
Speaker of the Assembly, Temporary President of the Senate and Chairs of
the Senate and Assembly Health and Aging Committees.
 
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:
To be determined.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect September 1, 2025, and shall expire and be
deemed repealed 2 years after such date.