Bill > S3606

Introduced Session

This bill prohibits an owner, administrator, director, officer, or employee of a long-term care facility or any person or entity affiliated or related to the owner, administrator, director, officer, or employee from being eligible to act as an attorney-in-fact for a resident of a long-term care facility or an individual who is in the admission process to enter a long-term care facility. Further, the bill prohibits any person who benefits financially from a long-term care facility from acting as an attorney-in-fact. The determination as to whether to appoint an individual affiliated with a long-term care facility as guardian of a resident or individual in the admission process to enter a long-term care facility is required to be made by the Superior Court in consultation with the Office of the Public Guardian for Elderly Adults. Under the bill, a power of attorney instrument executed by a principal naming an enumerated person is deemed invalid. "Long-term care facility" is defined as a nursing home, assisted living residence, comprehensive personal care home, residential health care facility, or dementia care home licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.). Finally, a principal is defined in the bill as a resident of a long-term care facility or an individual who is in the admission process to enter a long-term care facility. The bill requires the Department of Health to develop a standard resident admission contract. Long-term care facilities are required to use the admission contract developed by the department beginning on the first day next following the sixth month of the date of enactment. The bill prohibits a long-term care facility from requiring a resident to sign any other document at the time of, or as a condition of, admission into care. A long-term care facility is prohibited from presenting any arbitration agreement to a prospective resident as part of the standard resident admission agreement. The bill requires an operator of a long-term facility to provide each resident, or a resident's representative, notice that they may use an attorney to apply for Medicaid long term care benefits at the time of admission. Further, the notice is required to be posted conspicuously in the nursing home or health care facility. Finally, the bill requires the Commissioner of Human Services to promulgate rules establishing uniform standards of care for non-attorney individuals providing Medicaid application assistance, including, but not limited to: (1) defining who is permitted to act as a Medicaid application assistor before Medicaid agencies and the Office of Administrative Law; (2) outlining the scope and nature of the services that non-attorney Medicaid application assistors are authorized to provide; (3) requiring Medicaid application assistors to complete training on: Medicaid program rules; handling confidential financial and medical information; conflicts of interest; and what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law; and (4) prohibiting non-attorney Medicaid application assistors from charging any fee for providing Medicaid application assistance services.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Bob Singer (R)*,  Joe Vitale (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 02/13/2023)

Official Document