Minnesota Session Laws - 2005, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 122-H.F.No. 675 
                  An act relating to health; modifying the hospice care 
                  bill of rights; requiring hospice providers to 
                  complete a specified survey; modifying death report 
                  requirements for recipients of hospice care; amending 
                  Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 144A.751, 
                  subdivisions 1, 3; 144A.755; 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 and the individual's family have has 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 hospice 
        services are may be covered by health insurance, medical 
        assistance, Medicare, 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 in which the individual is 
        enrolled; 
           (8) know what the charges are for services, no matter who 
        will be paying the bill 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; 
           (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, Medicare, 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) 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) be free from physical and verbal abuse; 
           (16) (17) 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 as specified in the 
        employment contract between the hospice provider and the 
        individual providing hospice services, or creates an abusive or 
        unsafe work environment for the individual providing home care 
        hospice services; or 
           (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; or 
           (iii) the recipient is no longer certified as terminally 
        ill; 
           (17) (18) a coordinated transfer when there will be a 
        change in the provider of services; 
           (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; 
           (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 client provider fees and in notices where hospice 
        providers initiate transfer or discontinuation of services. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 144A.755, is 
        amended to read: 
           144A.755 [INFORMATION AND REFERRAL SERVICES.] 
           The commissioner shall ensure that information and referral 
        services relating to hospice care are available in all regions 
        of the state.  The commissioner shall collect and make available 
        information about available hospice care, sources of payment, 
        providers, and the rights of patients.  The commissioner may 
        require hospice providers to provide information requested for 
        the purposes of this section as a condition of licensure The 
        commissioner shall, as a condition of licensure, require a 
        hospice provider to complete the sections entitled 
        Identification and Contact Information, Program Demographics, 
        Patient Volume, Patient Demographics, and Inpatient and 
        Residential Facilities in the National Hospice and Palliative 
        Care Organization National Data Set survey and to submit the 
        survey to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization 
        once in the 12 calendar months before the hospice provider's 
        license renewal date.  If the Center for Medicare and Medicaid 
        Services requires hospice providers to complete a different data 
        set as a condition of certification, the commissioner shall 
        accept the completion and submittal of such data set as 
        compliance with this requirement.  The commissioner shall not 
        use any data or information about any hospice provider submitted 
        to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in 
        connection with this data set in any regulatory function with 
        respect to the hospice provider.  The commissioner may publish 
        and make available: 
           (1) general information describing hospice care in the 
        state; 
           (2) limitations on hours, availability of services, and 
        eligibility for third-party payments, applicable to individual 
        providers; and 
           (3) other information the commissioner determines to be 
        appropriate.  
           Sec. 4.  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, or within 180 days for deaths of persons 
        under the care of a licensed hospice provider; 
           (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. 
           Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.] 
           Section 3 is effective August 1, 2005, and applies to: 
           (1) licenses renewed beginning January 1, 2006, for 
        hospices serving more than 400 patients a year; 
           (2) licenses renewed beginning January 1, 2007, for 
        hospices serving at least 300 patients a year; and 
           (3) licenses renewed beginning January 1, 2008, for 
        hospices serving fewer than 300 patients a year. 
           Presented to the governor May 24, 2005 
           Signed by the governor May 26, 2005, 8:10 p.m.