ASSEMBLY HEALTH COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

ASSEMBLY, No. 1394

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JUNE 20, 1996

      The Assembly Health Committee reports favorably an Assembly Committee Subsitute for Assembly Bill No. 1394.

      This substitute 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.

      The substitute exempts the operator of a health care services temporary agency, or a health care facility, as appropriate, from the monetary penalties imposed by the substitute if the operator procures employment for, or the facility utilizes the services of, an employee of a health care services temporary agency based upon fraudulent information submitted by the employee with respect to the employee's qualifications to perform the duties of his employment, notwithstanding the operator's or facility's good faith effort to comply with the provisions of the substitute.

      The substitute defines:

      -- "health care services temporary agency" as 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 (excluding licensed home health care services agencies from this definition); and

      -- "health care service" as 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.

      This substitute is intended to strengthen the regulatory authority of the Division of Consumer Affairs with respect to health care services temporary agencies providing both home and institutional care, and the Department of Health with respect to the utilization of employees of these agencies by health care facilities, and to ensure a high quality of care for the recipients of health care services provided by these agencies.