You asked about (1) 2003 legislation requiring nursing home inspections to be unannounced and random and (2) penalties for people who divulge the timing of an inspection to a nursing home.

PA 03-92

The Department of Public Health (DPH) renews nursing home licenses every two years after an unscheduled inspection. DPH also conducts federally required inspections (called “surveys”), which must be unannounced and conducted, on average, every 12 months, but at least every 15 months. If possible, DPH must conduct the state and federal inspections together in at least 70% of the homes.

Both federal and state law already required the inspections to be unannounced, prohibited advance notice of inspections, and imposed penalties for violators. PA 03-92 further clarifies the requirements by prohibiting prior disclosure of the DPH dual inspections. It also requires the inspections to be conducted randomly as to date and time of day.

PENALTIES F0R PROHIBITED DISCLOSURES

The federal penalty for any individual who notifies the nursing home of the time and date of a scheduled inspection is a civil fine of up to $ 2,000. State penalties for DPH or Long-term Care Ombudsman Office employees who give a home advance warning of an inspection are up to six months in prison, a fine of up to $ 1,000, or both. These penalties were already part of existing law, unchanged by PA 03-92.

FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS

To receive federal Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement, nursing homes must become federally certified and periodically undergo federally mandated inspections (called "surveys"). In Connecticut, DPH conducts these federal inspections under a contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The surveys must take place, on average, every 12 months, and the time between inspections cannot be more than 15 months (42 U. S. C. § 1395i-3(g)(2) and 42 C. F. R. § 488. 308).

Federal law requires that the surveys be unannounced and prohibits any prior notice to the home. It imposes civil penalties of up to $ 2,000 on anyone giving the homes advance notice. CMS reviews each state’s survey and scheduling procedures annually to ensure that they avoid giving notice of a survey. When CMS finds that state agencies have notified a home through their scheduling or procedural policies, it takes corrective action commensurate with the problem (42 U. S. C. § 1395i-3(g)(2 (A) (1)) and 42 C. F. R. §§ 488. 307).

STATE REQUIREMENTS

By law, DPH must renew nursing home licenses every two years after an unscheduled inspection and the home's submission of required information (CGS §§ 19a-493(b)(1), 19a-498). Whenever possible, these inspections must be conducted at the same time as a federal survey in at least 70% of the homes (CGS § 19a-521). PA 03-92, makes it clear that the dual inspections must be conducted randomly and that their time and date must not be disclosed. The law, unchanged by the act, generally prohibits DPH employees, Department of Social Services employees, and regional long-term care ombudsmen from notifying a

home that an inspection or other investigation is about to take place. Giving advance notice is a class B misdemeanor with a penalty of up to six months imprisonment, a fine of up to $ 1,000, or both. The person can also be dismissed, suspended, or demoted (CGS §19a-531).

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