SENATE, No. 546
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED JANUARY 29, 1996
By Senator BASSANO
An Act providing for the licensure of health care temporary services 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. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Health Care Temporary Services Agency Licensure Act."
2. The Legislature finds and declares that it shall be the public policy of this State to ensure the availability of high quality health care services, provided in the recipient's residence or to a patient in a health care facility, by those entities which are currently operating as medical temporary employment agencies under the regulatory authority of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety in order to protect and promote the health and safety of its residents; and to that end, the Department of Health shall be responsible for the mandatory licensure and regulation of these agencies, each of which shall comply with the provisions of this act.
3. 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 temporary services agency, including, but not limited to, nursing, nutritional and personal care services and physical, speech, occupational, respiratory, intravenous and related therapies.
"Health care temporary services 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. Health care temporary services agency includes those entities which, prior to the effective date of this act, were subject to licensure by the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety pursuant to P.L.1989, c.331 (C.34:8-43 et seq.), but does not include a home health care agency licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).
4. a. A person shall not either directly or indirectly open, conduct or maintain, or perform any of the functions of, a health care temporary services agency without first obtaining a license to operate a health care temporary services agency issued by the commissioner pursuant to this act, except that a person who is operating a health care services agency on the date of enactment of this act shall obtain a license from the commissioner no later than one year after the date of enactment of this act.
b. A license issued pursuant to this act shall be valid for a period of two years unless revoked by the commissioner pursuant to section 6 of this act.
5. a. An application for licensure pursuant to this act shall be made in writing to the commissioner according to rules and regulations established by the commissioner, and shall, at a minimum, state the full name and business address of the applicant.
The applicant shall notify the commissioner in writing of any changes in the information contained in the application for licensure, or of any additional information that is relevant to the application.
b. The commissioner shall charge a nonrefundable fee to be submitted by each applicant for a license, or a renewal thereof, in an amount that is determined by the commissioner to be adequate to cover the costs to the Department of Health of carrying out its responsibilities under this act.
c. An applicant for licensure shall furnish to the commissioner such additional information about the applicant and other persons associated with the health care temporary services agency for the operation of which the applicant is seeking a license, as the commissioner may require.
6. a. The commissioner may refuse to issue, suspend or revoke a license to operate a health care temporary services agency based upon a finding that the applicant or licensee, as the case may be, has:
(1) obtained a license through fraud, deception or misrepresentation;
(2) engaged in repeated acts of negligence, malpractice or incompetence;
(3) exhibited professional or occupational misconduct;
(4) been convicted of a crime which, in the determination of the commissioner, reflects adversely on the person's ability to operate a health care temporary services agency;
(5) had his authority to directly or indirectly open, conduct or maintain or perform any of the functions of a health care temporary services agency revoked or suspended by another state or other agency or authority;
(6) directed an employee of that agency to perform duties for which that employee is not qualified under this or another act; or
(7) failed to comply with, or violated, the provisions of this act or any rules or regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
b. The commissioner shall not refuse to issue, suspend or revoke a license except upon reasonable notice to, and opportunity to be heard by, the applicant or licensee, as the case may be.
7. In addition, or as an alternative, to revoking, suspending or refusing to issue a license pursuant to this act, the commissioner may order a person who is found to have violated a provision of this act or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, after affording that person an opportunity to be heard, to restore to a person aggrieved by that violation any monies acquired by means of the violation.
8. a. A health care temporary services agency shall file an annual report with the commissioner which includes the following information:
(1) The name and address of the operator of the agency;
(2) If the agency is a partnership, the name and address of each partner; and
(3) If the agency is a corporation, the name and address of each officer and the principal shareholder or controlling person of the corporation. In addition, the agency shall furnish to the commissioner such other reports or information as the commissioner may require from time to time in order to effectuate the purposes of this act.
b. The commissioner may, by regulation, establish requirements for a uniform system of reports by, and audits of, health care temporary services agencies with respect to the quality of the health care services which they provide.
c. The commissioner may from time to time, and without advance notice, but at least once during a two-year period shall, inspect the premises, operation and services of a health care temporary services agency to determine its compliance with the provisions of this act and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
9. a. Except as otherwise provided in this act, a person who violates a provision of this act or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, as determined by the commissioner, is liable to a civil penalty of not less than $150 or 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.
b. The operator of a health care temporary services agency who procures or offers to procure employment for an employee of that agency which would require the employee to perform duties for which that employee is not qualified by law is liable to a civil penalty of not less than $2,000 or 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.
10. a. A health care facility which utilizes the services of one or more employees of a health care temporary services agency shall develop procedures to ensure that the employee is qualified to perform the duties assigned by the health care facility.
b. A health care facility which utilizes the services of an employee of a health care temporary services agency which is not licensed pursuant to this act, or utilizes the services of an employee of a health care temporary services 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.
11. The commissioner shall provide for an appropriate and timely right of appeal for a person who is determined by the commissioner to have violated a provision of this act or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto.
12. The powers, functions and duties exercised by the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety with respect to health care temporary services agencies, pursuant to P.L.1989, c.331 (C.34:8-43 et seq.) and P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.), notwithstanding the provisions of those acts to the contrary, are transferred to and vested in the Department of Health.
13. 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.
14. This act shall take effect on the 90th day after enactment, except that the commissioner shall take such actions prior to the effective date as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill provides for the mandatory licensure and regulation of health care temporary services agencies by the Department of Health.
Currently, these entities are operating as temporary help service or private employment agencies (of which there are about 200) and are licensed by the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety. Under existing law, these agencies are only regulated with respect to their business practices, but not quality of care standards, and have been able to operate without adequate monitoring by the State to ensure that they are qualified and licensed to provide hands-on medical care.
The bill defines a health care temporary services 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. This definition would include those entities which, prior to the effective date of the bill, were subject to licensure by the Division of Consumer Affairs.
The bill provides for a two-year period of licensure and requires that the Department of Health conduct an inspection of each agency at least once during that period; however, the department may conduct an inspection at any time without providing advance notice to the agency.
The bill would impose fines on both an agency operator (between $2,000 and $5,000 for each offense) and a health care facility (between $1,000 and $3,000 for each offense) which arranges for, and utilizes, respectively, the services of a person 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.
This bill is intended to eliminate a major gap in the regulatory authority of the Department of Health with respect to medical temporary employment agencies providing both home and institutional care in New Jersey and is an important step towards ensuring a high quality of care for the recipients of health care services provided by these agencies.
The bill takes effect on the 90th day after its enactment.
Designated the "Health Care Temporary Services Agency Licensure Act."