SF 687

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to health; modifying the hospice care bill of
rights; modifying death report requirements for
recipients of hospice care; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2004, sections 144A.751, subdivisions 1, 3;
383B.225, subdivision 5.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 144A.751,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Statement of rights.

An individual who
receives hospice care deleted text begin and the individual's family have deleted text end new text begin has new text end the
right to:

(1) receive written information about rights in advance of
receiving hospice care or during the initial evaluation visit
before the initiation of hospice care, including what to do if
rights are violated;

(2) receive care and services according to a suitable
hospice plan of care and subject to accepted hospice care
standards and to take an active part in creating and changing
the plan and evaluating care and services;

(3) be told in advance of receiving care about the services
that will be provided, the disciplines that will furnish care,
the frequency of visits proposed to be furnished, other choices
that are available, and the consequence of these choices,
including the consequences of refusing these services;

(4) be told in advance, whenever possible, of any change in
the hospice plan of care and to take an active part in any
change;

(5) refuse services or treatment;

(6) know, in advance, any limits to the services available
from a provider, and the provider's grounds for a termination of
services;

(7) know in advance of receiving care whether the new text begin hospice
new text end services deleted text begin are deleted text end new text begin may be new text end covered by health insurance, medical
assistance, new text begin Medicare, new text end or other health programs deleted text begin , the charges for
services that will not be covered by Medicare, and the charges
that the individual may have to pay deleted text end new text begin in which the individual is
enrolled new text end ;

(8) deleted text begin know what the charges are for services, no matter who
will be paying the bill deleted text end new text begin receive, upon request, a good faith
estimate of the reimbursement the provider expects to receive
from the health plan company in which the individual is
enrolled. A good faith estimate must also be made available at
the request of an individual who is not enrolled in a health
plan company. This payment information does not constitute a
legally binding estimate of the cost of services new text end ;

(9) know that there may be other services available in the
community, including other end of life services and other
hospice providers, and know where to go for information about
these services;

(10) choose freely among available providers and change
providers after services have begun, within the limits of health
insurance, medical assistance, new text begin Medicare, new text end or other health
programs;

(11) have personal, financial, and medical information kept
private and be advised of the provider's policies and procedures
regarding disclosure of such information;

(12) be allowed access to records and written information
from records according to section 144.335;

(13) be served by people who are properly trained and
competent to perform their duties;

(14) be treated with courtesy and respect and to have the
patient's property treated with respect;

(15) new text begin voice grievances regarding treatment or care that is,
or fails to be, furnished or regarding the lack of courtesy or
respect to the patient or the patient's property;
new text end

new text begin (16) new text end be free from physical and verbal abuse;

deleted text begin (16) deleted text end new text begin (17) new text end reasonable, advance notice of changes in services
or charges, including at least ten days' advance notice of the
termination of a service by a provider, except in cases where:

(i) the recipient of services engages in conduct that
alters the conditions of employment deleted text begin as specified in the
employment contract deleted text end between the hospice provider and the
individual providing hospice services, or creates an abusive or
unsafe work environment for the individual providing deleted text begin home care
deleted text end new text begin hospice new text end services; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(ii) an emergency for the informal caregiver or a
significant change in the recipient's condition has resulted in
service needs that exceed the current service provider agreement
and that cannot be safely met by the hospice provider; new text begin or
new text end

new text begin (iii) the recipient is no longer certified as terminally
ill;
new text end

deleted text begin (17) deleted text end new text begin (18) new text end a coordinated transfer when there will be a
change in the provider of services;

deleted text begin (18) voice grievances regarding treatment or care that is,
or fails to be, furnished, or regarding the lack of courtesy or
respect to the patient or the patient's property;
deleted text end

(19) know how to contact an individual associated with the
provider who is responsible for handling problems and to have
the provider investigate and attempt to resolve the grievance or
complaint;

(20) know the name and address of the state or county
agency to contact for additional information or assistance;

(21) assert these rights personally, or have them asserted
by the hospice patient's family when the patient has been judged
incompetent, without retaliation; and

(22) have pain and symptoms managed to the patient's
desired level of comfort.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 144A.751,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Disclosure.

A copy of these rights must be
provided to an individual at the time hospice care is
initiated. The copy shall contain the address and telephone
number of the Office of Health Facility Complaints and the
Office of the Ombudsman for Older Minnesotans and a brief
statement describing how to file a complaint with these
offices. Information about how to contact the Office of the
Ombudsman for Older Minnesotans shall be included in notices of
change in deleted text begin client deleted text end new text begin provider new text end fees and in notices where hospice
providers initiate transfer or discontinuation of services.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 383B.225,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Reports of death.

All sudden or unexpected
deaths and all deaths which may be due entirely, or in part, to
any factor other than natural disease must be reported to the
medical examiner for evaluation. These include, but are not
limited to:

(1) unnatural deaths, including violent deaths arising from
homicide, suicide, or accident;

(2) deaths associated with burns or chemical, electrical,
or radiational injury;

(3) maternal deaths due to abortion;

(4) deaths under suspicious circumstances;

(5) deaths of inmates of public institutions who have not
been hospitalized primarily for organic disease and deaths of
persons in custody of law enforcement officers;

(6) deaths that occur during, in association with, or as
the result of diagnostic, therapeutic, or anesthetic procedures;

(7) deaths due to neglect;

(8) stillbirths of 20 weeks or longer gestation unattended
by a physician;

(9) sudden deaths of persons not disabled by recognizable
disease;

(10) unexpected deaths of persons notwithstanding a history
of underlying disease;

(11) deaths of persons to be cremated if an autopsy was not
performed;

(12) deaths in which a fracture of a major bone such as a
femur, humerus, or tibia, has occurred within the past six
months;

(13) deaths unattended by a physician occurring outside of
a licensed health care facility;

(14) deaths of persons not seen by their physician within
90 days of demise new text begin , or within 180 days for deaths of persons
under the care of a licensed hospice provider new text end ;

(15) physician attended deaths of persons occurring in an
emergency department; or

(16) deaths of unborn or newborn infants in which there has
been maternal use of or exposure to unprescribed controlled
substances.

No person, other than the medical examiner, shall issue a
record of death in cases of accidental, suicidal, violent, or
mysterious deaths, including suspected homicides, occurring in
the county.