ASSEMBLY, No. 1394

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblywoman VANDERVALK

An Act concerning health care services temporary agencies and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. As used in this act:

    "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Health.

    "Health care facility" means a health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

    "Health care service" means a preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic health service provided in the recipient’s residence, or to a patient in a health care facility under a contractual agreement between the facility and a health care services temporary agency, including, but not limited to, nursing, nutritional and personal care services and physical, speech, occupational, respiratory, intravenous and related therapies.

    "Health care services temporary agency" means a person, partnership, corporation, company, trust or other business entity, whether for-profit or nonprofit, who arranges or provides one or more health care services, or who is engaged in the business of procuring or offering to procure employment for persons to provide one or more health care services, where a fee is exacted, charged or received directly or indirectly for procuring or offering to procure that employment. A health care services temporary agency does not include a home health care agency licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

    2. a. The operator of a health care services temporary agency who procures or offers to procure employment for an employee of that agency which would require the employee to perform duties for which the employee is not qualified by law is liable to a civil penalty of not less than $2,000 and not more than $5,000 for each offense, to be collected and enforced by summary proceedings pursuant to “the penalty enforcement law,” N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute a separate offense.

           b. An employee of a health care services temporary agency who engages in employment which requires the employee to perform duties for which the employee is not qualified by law is liable to a civil penalty of not less than $250 and not more than $1,000 for each offense, to be collected and enforced by summary proceedings pursuant to “the penalty enforcement law,” N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute a separate offense.

    3. A health care facility which utilizes the services of an employee of a health care services temporary agency who does not meet the statutory requirements for licensure, certification or registration to perform the duties assigned to that person by the health care facility, is liable to a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 or more than $3,000 for each offense, to be collected and enforced by summary proceedings pursuant to "the penalty enforcement law," N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute a separate offense.

    4. The commissioner shall provide for an appropriate and timely right of appeal for an operator or employee of a health care services temporary agency or a health care facility which is determined by the commissioner to have violated a provision of this act or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto.

    5. The commissioner, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.

    6. This act shall take effect immediately.

                                                   STATEMENT

    This bill imposes monetary penalties on health care facilities (between $1,000 and $3,000 for each offense), as well as operators of health care services temporary agencies (between $2,000 and $5,000 for each offense) and employees of those agencies (between $250 and $1,000) for utilizing employees of health care services temporary agencies to perform duties for which they are not qualified by licensure, certification or registration in accordance with statutory requirements. This bill is intended to strengthen the regulatory authority of the Department of Health with respect to health care services temporary agencies providing both home and institutional care, and to ensure a high quality of care for the recipients of health care services provided by these agencies.

Penalizes health care facilities and health care services temporary agencies for utilizing temporary health care personnel improperly.