Assembly OKs Bills to Improve Nursing Homes

After delays that consumed more than a month, the Assembly unanimously approved two urgency bills on Thursday designed to improve care in California nursing homes.

The two identical measures--one originating in the Senate and the other in the Assembly--are the result of a bipartisan compromise that revives nearly all of the nursing home legislation vetoed last year by Gov. George Deukmejian. The governor’s office has indicated that Deukmejian will sign the bills this time.

The bills, which would stiffen penalties for the abuse of patients and increase state Medi-Cal payments to nursing homes so they can raise salaries and staffing levels, are tied together so that the governor must sign both of them if either is to become law.

In that way, both the Assembly and Senate sponsors can claim credit.

Effective Immediately

Because the bills are urgency measures, they would take effect immediately upon being signed by the governor.

Strongly supported by senior citizens, the bills resulted from a state investigation that found conditions were deplorable in many of California’s 1,200 nursing homes.

Although the proposals were highly controversial last year, the issue has become so routine that few legislators even bothered to pay attention to a brief discussion of the bills on the Assembly floor Thursday.

By a vote of 76 to 0, the lower house passed one bill by Assemblyman Phil Isenberg (D-Sacramento). Moments later, the vote was 77 to 0 to approve an identical measure authored by Sen. Henry Mello (D-Watsonville).

Both bills were sent immediately to the Senate for final action, but the Senate adjourned for the weekend before taking them up. The Senate is expected to act next week.

Impose Fines

Among its many provisions, the legislation would impose fines for falsification of medical records, improve training of state inspectors, prohibit discrimination against Medi-Cal patients and require the state to publish a list of nursing homes that are in good standing. The increase in Medi-Cal payments would total more than $8 million for the remainder of this fiscal year.

All these elements were included in last year’s bills, but Deukmejian vetoed the package because it included several provisions he opposed, such as establishing two advisory committees on nursing homes.

In early January, Democratic and Republican leaders in the Assembly said they would push for quick passage of the legislation so that it could take effect by the end of that month. Action was stalled, however, because of delays in forming Assembly committees.