Minnesota Session Laws - 1991, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1991 

                        CHAPTER 133-H.F.No. 1592 
           An act relating to health; requiring home care 
          providers to advise persons receiving home care 
          services of certain rights; amending Minnesota 
          Statutes 1990, section 144A.44, subdivision 1. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1990, section 144A.44, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [STATEMENT OF RIGHTS.] A person who 
receives home care services has these rights: 
    (1) the right to receive written information about 
rights in advance of receiving care or during the initial 
evaluation visit before the initiation of treatment, including 
what to do if rights are violated; 
    (2) the right to receive care and services according to a 
suitable and up-to-date plan, and subject to accepted medical or 
nursing standards, to take an active part in creating and 
changing the plan and evaluating care and services; 
    (3) the right to be told in advance of receiving care about 
the services that are being will be provided or suggested, the 
disciplines that will furnish care, the frequency of visits 
proposed to be furnished, about other choices that are 
available, and about the consequences of these choices including 
the consequences of refusing these services; 
    (4) the right to be told in advance of any change in the 
plan of care and to take an active part in any change; 
     (5) the right to refuse services or treatment; 
    (5) (6) the right to know, in advance, any limits to the 
services available from a provider, whether the services are 
covered by health insurance, medical assistance, or other health 
programs, and the provider's grounds for a termination of 
services; 
    (7) the right to know in advance of receiving care whether 
the services are covered by health insurance, medical 
assistance, or other health programs, the charges for services 
that will not be covered by medicare, and the charges that the 
individual may have to pay; 
     (6) (8) the right to know what the charges are for 
services, no matter who will be paying the bill; 
    (7) (9) the right to know that there may be other services 
available in the community, including other home care services 
and providers, and to know where to go for information about 
these services; 
    (8) (10) the right to choose freely among available 
providers and to change providers after services have begun, 
within the limits of health insurance, medical assistance, or 
other health programs; 
    (9) (11) the right to have personal, financial, and medical 
information kept private, and to be advised of the provider's 
policies and procedures regarding disclosure of such 
information; 
    (10) (12) the right to be allowed access to records and 
written information from records in accordance with section 
144.335; 
    (11) (13) the right to be served by people who are properly 
trained and competent to perform their duties; 
    (12) (14) the right to be treated with courtesy and 
respect, and to have the patient's property treated with 
respect; 
    (13) (15) the right to be free from physical and verbal 
abuse; 
    (14) (16) the right to reasonable, advance notice of 
changes in services or charges; 
    (15) (17) the right to a coordinated transfer when there 
will be a change in the provider of services; 
    (18) the right to 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; 
     (16) (19) the right to 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) the right to know the name and address of the state or 
county agency to contact for additional information or 
assistance; and 
    (17) (21) the right to assert these rights personally, or 
have them asserted by the patient's family or guardian when the 
patient has been judged incompetent, without retaliation. 
    Presented to the governor May 17, 1991 
    Signed by the governor May 21, 1991, 1:26 p.m.