You asked for a description of bills affecting seniors that passed in the 2002 regular legislative session. This is a preliminary report covering only the regular session that will be followed by our usual "Acts Affecting Seniors" report after the special session.

SUMMARY

In the regular session, the legislature passed 11 bills that affect seniors. These bills:

· exempt Anthem-Blue Cross demutualization payments and stock distributions which many seniors recently received from being counted as income for ConnPACE and other state elderly assistance programs (SB 27);

· require annual flu shots and periodic pneumonia shots for nursing home patients (SB 213);

· require notice and allow public hearings prior to nursing home closures (SB 360);

· require pharmacies to establish quality assurance programs to detect and prevent prescription errors (SB 504);

· require the Department of Public Health (DPH) to study the need for a pamphlet outlining hospital patients' rights (SB 532);

· add eight new members to the Long-Term Care Advisory Council and require the council to seek recommendations from people with disabilities or people receiving long-term care who reflect the state's socioeconomic diversity (HB 5166);

· require the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) to do a comprehensive assessment of unmet long-term care needs, including a review of the Department of Mental Retardation (DMR) waiting lists, and to project future demand (HB 5169);

· protect more of a bank customer's veterans' or Social Security benefits from being taken by creditors (HB 5514);

· let auto and homeowner's insurance policy holders age 55 and older designate a third party to receive cancellation notices (HB 5641);

· require DPH to establish a quality of care program for health care facilities and require hospitals and outpatient facilities to report adverse events to DPH (HB 5715); and

· allow motor vehicle owners to designate a beneficiary in writing on the registration certificate to assume ownership in case of the current owner's death and require people to honor documents where one adult gives another the right to make certain decisions in health care settings, nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals and other situations (HB 5763).

SB 27 (SA 02-1)

AN ACT CONCERNING QUALIFYING INCOME FOR PURPOSES OF CERTAIN STATE PROGRAMS

This bill excludes cash payments and the value of stock distributed to individuals in connection with Anthem, Inc. 's conversion to a stockholder-owned company from consideration in determining income eligibility for the following programs:

1. Connecticut Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract to the Elderly and Disabled (ConnPACE),

2. state-reimbursed additional property tax exemption for veterans,

3. elderly property tax freeze,

4. rental rebates for elderly and totally disabled people,

5. property tax credits for elderly and totally disabled homeowners (circuit breaker),

6. local-option additional property tax exemptions for veterans and totally disabled and blind people, and

7. local-option property tax relief for elderly and totally disabled people.

For stock distributions to be excluded, the person receiving the stock must sell it in the tax year during which it is distributed or the two following tax years. The exclusion is limited to the stock's value on the distribution date and does not cover any gains accrued between the distribution date and the sale date.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage and applicable to property tax assessment years starting on or after October 1, 2001 and taxable years for individuals starting on or after January 1, 2001.

sSB 213

AN ACT CONCERNING THE PREVENTION OF INFLUENZA IN NURSING HOMES

This bill requires the public health commissioner to adopt regulations for the prevention of influenza and pneumococcal disease in nursing homes. The regulations must assure that each nursing home patient is immunized annually against influenza, and against pneumonia according to recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. The regulations must also provide appropriate exemptions for patients (1) for whom immunization is medically contraindicated or (2) who object on religious grounds.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2002

SB 360

AN ACT CONCERNING NOTICE AND PUBLIC HEARING PRIOR TO A NURSING HOME CLOSURE

This bill establishes notification requirements for nursing homes and other health care facilities undertaking activities that require a certificate of need (CON) from the Department of Social Services (DSS). It requires any nursing home, intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded, rest home, or residential care home submitting a "request for permission" (a CON application) to DSS to concurrently notify the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

The bill also requires the facility to notify the ombudsman's office at the same time it submits its CON letter of intent to DSS. Facilities submitting a CON letter of intent to terminate a service or decrease its bed capacity substantially (e. g. , closure of a facility) must also concurrently notify in writing all patients, guardians or conservators, or legally liable relative or other responsible party, if known. The facility must post a notice in a conspicuous location at the facility.

The bill permits the DSS commissioner to hold a public hearing on such applications and makes hearing procedures for CON applications involving capital expenditures applicable to them. It changes the current law by making hearings in the latter situation permissive, rather than mandatory.

Currently, there is a CON moratorium on new nursing home beds until June 30, 2007, with certain exceptions. This bill permits DSS to approve one CON request for no more than 20 beds for the provision of lifetime nursing home services to residents. The applicant must be a licensed nursing home and cannot participate in the Medicaid or Medicare programs. It must (1) admit residents and provide health care without regard to their income or assets and (2) demonstrate to DSS's satisfaction that it is financially able to provide lifetime care without Medicaid participation.

Under the CON program, DSS reviews a facility's (1) transfer of all or part of its ownership or control prior to licensure; (2) introduction of any additional function or service into its program of care or expansion of an existing function or service; or (3) termination of a service or substantial decrease in its total bed capacity. The facility seeking to do any of these must file a CON application beginning with a letter of intent, using DSS forms and instructions. If the application is approved, the CON is granted.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2002

sSB 504 (PA 02-48)

AN ACT CONCERNING THE REPORTING OF PRESCRIPTION ERRORS AND REQUIRING CERTAIN CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR PHARMACISTS

This bill requires the consumer protection commissioner to adopt regulations requiring pharmacies to establish quality assurance programs designed to detect and prevent prescription errors. The bill defines a "prescription error" as an act or omission of clinical significance relating to the dispensing of a drug that results in, or may reasonably be expected to result in, a patient's injury or death. In addition, the bill requires each pharmacy (1) to post signs and include notices on receipts or in prescription packaging informing consumers of a way to report prescription errors and (2) keep records about prescriptions errors.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2002

SB 532

AN ACT CONCERNING A PAMPHLET OUTLINING THE RIGHTS OF HOSPITAL PATIENTS

The bill requires the DPH to study the need for a pamphlet outlining hospital patients' rights under federal or state law or regulations. The department must list the rights to be included in such a pamphlet and consider the feasibility of requiring all hospitals to provide patients with such a pamphlet. The public health commissioner must report on the study to the Public Health Committee by January 1, 2003. (This will be a Special Act)

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage

sHB 5166

AN ACT CONCERNING THE LONG-TERM CARE ADVISORY COUNCIL

This bill requires the Long-Term Care Advisory Council (LTCAC) to seek recommendations from people with disabilities or people receiving long-term care services who reflect the state's socioeconomic diversity.

It also adds eight new members to the 19-member LTCAC. They are (1) a personal care attendant appointed by the House speaker; (2) the president of the Family Support Council or his designee; (3) someone who, in a home setting, cares for a person with a disability, appointed by the Senate president pro tempore; (4) three people with disabilities, one each appointed by the House and Senate majority leaders and the House minority leader; (5) a legislator who is a member of the Long-Term Care Planning Committee; and (6) a nonunion home health aide appointed by the Senate minority leader.

The bill also makes some minor and technical changes regarding some of the existing council members. It puts the state president of AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) himself or his designee on the council, instead of only his appointee. It also puts the president of the Connecticut chapter of the Connecticut Alzheimer's Association, instead of the executive director of the Connecticut Alzheimer's Association, on the council. And it makes corrections in the names of several entities represented on the council.

The LTCAC, composed of long-term care providers and consumer advocates, advises the interagency Long-Term Care (LTC) Planning Committee which is composed of representatives from executive agencies and legislators. The LTC Planning Committee's charge is to exchange information on long-term care issues, coordinate long-term care policy development, establish a statewide long-term care plan for the elderly and others in need of long-term care and revise it every three years, and study related issues.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2002

sHB 5169 (SA 02-7)

AN ACT CONCERNING A COMPREHENSIVE NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF LONG-TERM CARE

The bill requires OPM to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the unmet long-term care needs in the state and project future demand for such services. Such assessment must include a review of DMR's waiting list.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2002

sHB 5514

AN ACT CONCERNING BANK ACCOUNT EXECUTIONS (relevant parts only)

By law, a creditor may obtain a court-ordered judgment against someone who owes him money (the debtor) in certain circumstances. The creditor can execute or serve this order on any banking institution (banks, savings and loans, and credit unions; hereafter "bank") where the debtor has an account. This bill increases, from $ 800 to $ 1,000, the amount the bank must leave in the account if the debtor recently received by electronic direct deposit "readily identifiable" exempt federal veterans' or Social Security benefits.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2003

Background

Bank and Creditor Obligations. By law, creditors cannot attach or seize exempt funds to satisfy a court judgment. State and federal law exempt such funds as Social Security and federal veterans' benefits, state welfare, child support, pensions, $ 268 per week in wages, and a $ 1,000 "wild card. " Exempt funds retain this status when deposited into a bank.

When a creditor serves an order on the debtor's bank, the bank must ignore a set amount in the debtor's account (or the entire account balance if less than the set amount) if a readily identifiable exempt federal veterans' or Social Security benefit was directly deposited electronically within the past 30 days. (The bill increases this amount from $ 800 to $ 1,000. ) Banks that exclude this money in good faith or do so by mistake are exempt from liability to creditors, but creditors can ask for a court hearing when they believe that any of the funds a bank withheld are not exempt.

Except as described above, banks served with such orders must remove funds from the account up to the full amount of the judgment and mail the account holder notice and a form he must return to the bank within 15 days if he claims that any of the removed funds were exempt. If the account holder does not return the claim form to the bank within 15 days, the bank pays over the funds to the creditor on request. But if he claims an exemption within the allowable period, the bank must notify the Superior Court and continue to hold the funds for the earlier of 45 days or until a court issues a disposition order for the disputed funds.

sHB 5641

AN ACT ALLOWING SENIOR CITIZENS TO DESIGNATE A THIRD PARTY TO RECEIVE CERTAIN CANCELLATION NOTICES

This bill requires insurers that offer automobile and homeowners insurance to include a conspicuous statement with each policy informing policyholders age 55 and older that they may designate a third party to receive cancellation or nonrenewal notices. The insurance commissioner must approve the statement, which must include a designation form, a mailing address that the policyholder may use to designate a third party, and satisfy other requirements for it to be effective.

The bill adds automobile liability policy third-party designees as recipients of (1) a cancellation notice and (2) the proof of notice required to cancel, nonrenewal, or provide reasons for canceling. In the standard fire insurance policy form, the bill adds homeowners' insurance policy third-party designees as recipients of the cancellation notice that insurers must send to cancel the policy. When a designation is made, insurers must give the designee notice for the cancellation or nonrenewal to be effective.

The bill requires automobile and homeowners' insurers that send, deliver, mail, or otherwise provide cancellation or nonrenewal notices to an insured to use the same method to send, deliver, mail, or provide a copy of the notice to any third-party designee.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2002

sHB 5715

AN ACT CREATING A PROGRAM FOR QUALITY IN HEALTH CARE

This bill requires DPH to establish a quality of care program for health care facilities. DPH must develop a health care quality performance measurement and reporting system initially applicable to the state's hospitals. Other health care facilities come under the quality program as it develops in later years. An advisory committee, chaired by the DPH commissioner, advises the program.

The bill directs DPH to produce a report that compares the state's hospitals based on quality performance measures. The bill requires all hospitals to implement performance improvement plans. These plans must be submitted annually to DPH as a condition of licensure, beginning June 30, 2003.

The bill allows DPH to seek and apply for funding to implement the quality of care program provisions. These provisions must be implemented upon receiving this funding.

The bill requires hospitals and outpatient surgical facilities to report adverse events to DPH. An "adverse event" is an injury caused by or associated with medical management and results in death or measurable disability.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2002, except July 1, 2002 for the adverse event reports.

HB 5763

AN ACT CONCERNING A TRANSFER UPON DEATH OPTION IN THE MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION FORM (relevant portions of bill only)

Among other provisions, this bill allows a natural person who is the only owner of a motor vehicle to designate in writing on the registration certificate a beneficiary who will assume ownership on his death.

It also requires people to honor documents executed by one adult designating another adult to make certain decisions on the maker's behalf and giving the designee limited rights or responsibilities. The bill applies to documents used:

1. in psychiatric hospitals, when informed consent for medical treatment is required from someone other than the patient;

2. in nursing homes, when private visitation and room transfer decisions are made;

3. in health care settings, when medical personnel (a) need information about a patient's wishes from people other than the patient or (b) plan to withdraw life support;

4. in the workplace, when an employee receives an emergency telephone call;

5. in court and administrative proceedings involving crime victims; and

6. upon death of the maker, regarding ownership to the maker's motor vehicle.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2002, except the provisions concerning motor vehicle transfers are effective January 1, 2003.

Nursing Home Patient's Bill Of Rights

The bill gives nursing home (used generically and includes residential care homes, chronic disease hospitals, and rest homes with nursing supervision) residents the right to have designees (1) receive between 30 and 60 days advance notice of involuntary, non-emergency room transfers, including moving Medicaid patients from private to non-private rooms; (2) included in the consultative process prior to transfer (current law requires notice to, and consultation with, certain relatives, conservators and guardians, or other representatives); (3) visit them in private (current law applies to spouses only); and (4) meet with other patients' families at the facility (current law is limited to family members).

By law, nursing homes must give patients written notice of their rights, which under the bill would include the above. Patients who are injured by a facility's violation of the Nursing Home Patient's Bill of Rights can sue for money damages. They are entitled to punitive damages for a facility's willful or reckless actions.

Life Support And Anatomical Gift Decisions

By law, a physician treating an incapacitated person in a terminal or permanently unconscious condition must consider the patient's wishes concerning the withholding or withdrawal of life support. When the doctor does not have a patient's living will in his possession, he must determine those wishes by asking the patient's health care agent, next of kin, legal guardian or conservator, or anyone else he knows has talked with the patient about his wishes, where this is possible. He must also make reasonable efforts to give advance notice to a person's health care agent, legal guardian, or conservator before withdrawing life support.

The bill adds a patient's designee to the list of people the doctor must consult about a patient's wishes and notify before removing life support. It also requires health care providers to include in a patient's medical record reported communications the patient made to his designee, in addition to the people listed above, about any aspect of his health care preferences, including the withholding or withdrawal of life support.

Finally, the bill gives a deceased person's designee priority in making anatomical gift decisions over his guardian, health care agent, conservator, and all family members except the surviving spouse. As under existing law, no one can override an earlier unrevoked decision the deceased made not to make the gift.

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