This section defines specific terms for understanding related laws. An 'abbreviated contract of admission' is a simplified agreement for residents receiving short-term respite care in long-term health facilities, excluding certain legal requirements. A 'contract of admission' covers all paperwork residents or their representatives must sign to enter a long-term care facility. 'Department' refers to the State Department of Health Services.

By January 1, 2000, skilled nursing, intermediate care, and nursing facilities in California must use a standard admission agreement created by the department, complying with state and federal laws. Facilities can't change this standard agreement without permission. The department can make a shorter agreement for short-term stays of 14 days or less, but if stays go over 14 days, the full agreement is needed.

Additionally, these facilities can provide separate written explanations of their specific rules as long as they are separate from the standard agreement. All new admissions after December 31, 1999, need to comply with these rules. By the same deadline, a comprehensive Patients’ Bill of Rights will be crafted, summarizing various regulations. This must be attached to facility contracts and translated into main languages of significant ethnic groups by January 1, 2000. Facilities are responsible for sharing these translated documents. This law doesn't change existing care requirements or create new legal liabilities for compliance.

This law section outlines rules about admission contracts for facilities. It states that these contracts cannot include illegal waivers that would release the facility from responsibility for the health, safety, or personal property of residents. Contracts also must not contain terms that the facility knows, or should know, are misleading or illegal.

If a facility violates these rules, it could face a Class B citation or a deficiency notice from the department, but this would apply to the entire contract as one issue.

Additionally, residents are not limited to seeking only the remedies or penalties described here; they can pursue any legal options available under other state laws.

This law requires long-term health care facilities to provide blank copies of their admission contracts to anyone who asks, for a small fee. They also have to display a copy of the contract or a notice about how to get it in a place where everyone in the facility can see it.

This law sets standards for contracts used by skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities when admitting patients. These contracts must be printed clearly, in a readable size, and use everyday language. Each contract must include detailed sections like the facility owner's contact info and the entity responsible for patient care. Importantly, if respite care services are included, the contract should explain that unless specific conditions are met, they are not covered by Medi-Cal. Instead, they require private payment or third-party payors. The contract also needs to establish and document an agreed discharge date, which will serve as a valid basis for discharge. Lastly, these contracts should clarify if they are meant primarily for respite care services and not for general admissions.

This law requires that when a skilled nursing facility in California changes ownership, it must notify all current residents and their primary contacts within 30 days. The notice should include the names of the new owner and licensee, along with contact information for the entity that will handle all patient care and facility operations.

The facility must submit a copy of the notice and a list of who received it to the State Department of Public Health as proof of compliance.

Before or when someone enters a facility, the facility should try to clearly explain the admission contract to the person and get their signature unless they can't understand or sign due to legal incompetence or a medical condition. If they can't sign, it should be noted by a doctor in their medical record. The facility can also get a legal representative to sign if needed.

For facilities that accept Medi-Cal payments, the contract must clearly state, in big and bold print, that they can't require someone else to sign for the Medi-Cal patient as a condition for admission. However, if the patient has an agent, then the agent may be asked to sign.

If you've signed a contract with a long-term care facility and want to return to the same place, you don't have to sign a new contract. Instead, you'll sign a statement listing any changes to the original contract. This statement will be attached to your original contract. This doesn't apply if you've been declared legally incompetent or your doctor thinks you're too ill to understand the statement. Also, the statement shouldn't include any forbidden contract terms. If you're transferred during a 'bedhold,' you don't need to sign a new contract or statement.

If someone already has a short admission contract with a nursing or care facility and wants to re-enter for respite care, they don't need to sign a new contract. Instead, they can sign a statement listing any changes to the original contract. This statement, noting the date of signature, is kept with the original file.

This rule doesn't apply if the person has been declared legally unable to understand or sign due to incompetence or a medical condition.

This law requires any admission contract for a facility to clearly state if the facility is part of the Medi-Cal program, ensuring that potential residents or their families are informed about this important aspect of the facility's services.

This law requires that any admission contract for a facility clearly lists the services and supplies included in the basic daily rate as well as optional services and their charges. Residents must receive monthly statements detailing all charges.

Facilities participating in Medicare or Medi-Cal programs must specify that optional services for these residents might differ from those for private pay residents and provide a list of optional Medi-Cal services if a resident switches to Medi-Cal.

Furthermore, facilities are mandated to give at least a 30-day written notice to residents for any increase in optional service charges or daily room rates, unless another provision applies.

This law requires long-term health care facilities to specify in the admission contract if they will charge interest on late payments. They must clearly indicate both the interest rate and how it is calculated.

This law states that a contract for admitting someone into a long-term health care facility certified by Medi-Cal must clearly indicate that residents or their representatives cannot be forced to pay privately while Medi-Cal is expected to cover their stay. Once the resident shows proof of Medi-Cal eligibility, the facility must file a claim with Medi-Cal and refund any payments made by the resident or on their behalf for services covered by Medi-Cal. The contract must also state that the facility cannot require the resident to pay privately for a specific period as a condition of admission.

Furthermore, the facility cannot include a requirement in the contract demanding that residents notify them of their intention to switch to Medi-Cal before applying for it. However, while a facility can ask for notice after admission, it cannot make this a pre-condition.

This law states that if you are a Medi-Cal beneficiary applying to a healthcare facility, you cannot be asked to pay a security deposit during admission.

Additionally, if you initially pay privately and transition to Medi-Cal coverage, any security deposit you paid must be refunded to you within 14 days after your private account is closed or after your first Medi-Cal payment, whichever is later, without any deductions for administrative costs.

This law states that a nursing home or similar facility cannot require a resident to pay for days after they have died or been forced to leave. However, if a resident voluntarily leaves within three days of checking in, they can be charged for up to three days. The law also specifies that a resident doesn’t need to give advance notice before leaving a facility voluntarily.

This law states that when a resident is being admitted to a facility, their admission contract cannot force them to agree to every treatment a doctor might order. It can only require them to consent to regular nursing care or care needed in an emergency. Additionally, the contract must clearly inform patients about their right to refuse treatments according to other specific California regulations.

This law states that any contract for entry into a care facility must clearly state that residents have the right to keep their medical information private. The contract must also include a way for the resident to allow certain people to access their information through an attached form that follows specific legal guidelines. Additionally, care facilities must encourage residents who can make their own health decisions to create advance health care directives. Facilities are also required to provide a list of new residents to a long-term care advocate upon request.

This law requires the translation of the Patients’ Bill of Rights into Spanish, Chinese, and other languages for ethnic groups that make up at least 1% of the nursing home population in California, as well as into Braille for blind patients. These translations must be sent to all long-term care facilities across the state.

Additionally, every admission contract in nursing homes must include a complete copy of both the statutory and regulatory Patients’ Bill of Rights in easily readable 12-point type. If a translation is provided, it should be in the resident's language. The contract also must have a separate acknowledgment that the resident has been informed about these rights, and a signature on the entire contract doesn't satisfy this requirement; it needs to be separately acknowledged.

This law requires that when residents enter a care facility, their admission contract should clearly state that the facility rules are reasonable and there is a way for residents to suggest changes. The contract must also inform residents that there's a procedure to address complaints about how the facility operates and a grievance form that includes contact details for the local long-term care ombudsman and the State Department of Public Health. Furthermore, residents should be aware of their right to reach out to these entities for assistance with any grievances.

This law section stipulates that contracts for admission to long-term care facilities cannot include reasons for involuntary transfer or discharge unless those reasons are specified in federal or state laws. It also requires that these contracts declare that facilities participating in the Medi-Cal program cannot transfer or evict residents just because they switch from private or Medicare payment to Medi-Cal.

This law ensures that nursing home or care facility contracts can only mention significant or dishonest misrepresentation of finances as reasons for evicting a resident.

Additionally, it requires that all such contracts inform residents that they can file a complaint with the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman or the relevant department if they receive a discharge notice based on these financial misrepresentations.

This law ensures that residents of long-term health care facilities in California cannot be forced to leave the facility without proper notice, except in emergencies. Residents must receive written notice explaining why they are being moved or discharged. Additionally, if the facility participates in Medi-Cal, residents won't be moved just because their payment method changes from private payment or Medicare to Medi-Cal, except potentially moving from a private room to a semiprivate one. Facilities must inform eligible residents about the Long-Term Care Medi-Cal program and any associated costs. Any cases of involuntary discharge must be reported to the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and the law aligns with federal regulations.

This law requires that when a resident in a healthcare facility is transferred to a hospital for up to seven days, the facility must offer to hold their bed. The resident or their representative must be informed of this option at the time of transfer. They have 24 hours to request that the facility holds the bed. If the facility doesn't follow these steps, it must offer the resident the next available suitable bed. Additionally, it is communicated that Medi-Cal will cover bedhold costs for up to seven days.

If a facility wants to take a photo of a resident for reasons other than identification or health care, they need to get the resident's permission. This permission must be on a separate document from the admission contract, clearly stating how the photo will be used.

This law is about how arbitration clauses should be handled in admission contracts for healthcare facilities. It states that agreeing to arbitration must not be a condition for receiving medical care or being admitted to a facility. Any arbitration clauses should be on a separate form from the main contract, and there should be space for applicants to sign if they agree to arbitration. If there are clauses about medical malpractice claims, they must be separate from other arbitration clauses, and each needs its own signature. Additionally, the arbitration form must inform patients that they still have the right to sue for violations of the Patient’s Bill of Rights, even if they sign the arbitration agreement.

This law states that when someone is admitted to a facility, the contract they sign cannot change the legal deadline for filing a lawsuit against that facility. In other words, the standard time limits for starting legal action must remain the same and can't be shortened or extended by anything in the admission contract.

This law states that if an admission contract includes a clause about paying attorney’s fees, it must specify that the winning side in any dispute about the contract gets to have their attorney’s fees paid.

This law applies to people who move into skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities from January 1, 1988, onwards. It doesn't force existing residents who were there before this date to sign new admission agreements. However, these residents must be informed about any updates or changes to their admission contracts.