New York, N.Y. (June 10, 2022) - On June 4, 2022, the New York State Legislature passed legislation to strengthen the Empire State's nursing home oversight program, through bills A10045A and S8617A. The bills would require the New York State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to include additional information in publicized annual reports, including types and patterns of complaints filed against long-term care facilities.
Under the federal Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. ch. 35 § 3001 et seq), every state must have an Ombudsman Program to address complaints filed against long-term care facilities and to advocate for improvements. While the State Ombudsman Program does not gather evidence to substantiate allegations of resident abuse or potential violations of state and federal laws and regulations, the program can disclose findings to an appropriate agency for regulatory oversight. At its core, the State Ombudsman Program provides long-term care residents with a patient-rights advocate.
The legislature's recent passage of bills A10045A and S8617A would amend New York Elder Law Section 218(14) to require additional information in the state ombudsman's annual report to the governor, including:
- An examination of recurring complaints (if any) against a long-term care facility in its annual report to the governor;
- Data collected during investigations, concerns raised by residents and their families, and observations made when visiting long-term care facilities;
- All complaints regarding long-term care facilities – including the possible occurrence of physical abuse, mistreatment, neglect, or Medicaid fraud – organized by type of complaint, facility name, and region; and
- The number of visits to each long-term care facility (listed by name and region) and the names of facilities that did not receive visits in the prior year.
The bills were sponsored by State Senator Rachel May and Assembly Member Sarah Clark, claiming New York's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program has fallen behind other states' Ombudsman Programs and cited over 15,000 deaths in New York nursing homes since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill has not been delivered to Governor Hochul and has not been signed into law.
Long-term care facilities should monitor the State Ombudsman's annual reports to determine specific details of complaints filed (if any) against the facility. This additional information may assist facilities in anticipating and defending lawsuits filed in relation to the annual reports.
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