HB 349 -- ELDER ABUSE

CO-SPONSORS:  Hosmer, Ladd Baker, Britt, Selby, Kennedy,
Boucher, Kelly (27), McKenna, Crawford, Johnson (61), Williams,
Relford, Campbell, Reynolds

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Criminal
Law by a vote of 11 to 0.

This bill modifies the law relating to protection of the
elderly.  In its major provisions, the bill:

(1)  Creates a new chapter on protection of the elderly and
transfers several existing statutory sections to this chapter;

(2)  Requires reports of suspected elder abuse to be referred to
the appropriate law enforcement agency.  Current law requires
only substantiated reports to be referred.  The Division of
Aging is also required to investigate immediately any report of
elder abuse or neglect that involves a threat of imminent harm;

(3)  Requires the division and law enforcement agencies to
cross-train personnel in investigating cases of suspected elder
abuse;

(4)  Makes it a class A misdemeanor for a health care provider
to knowingly hire an applicant whose name appears on the
Division of Family Services' central registry for child abuse
and neglect; who has had a foster care license refused,
suspended, or revoked; or who has been disqualified from
employment by the Department of Mental Health.  This provision
has an emergency clause;

(5)  Allows the Attorney General to handle Medicare fraud
investigations.  The bill also allows the Attorney General to
obtain investigative subpoenas and search warrants in connection
with investigations of abuse cases;

(6)  Authorizes the Division of Aging, when confronted with
violations or deficiencies related to staffing, to implement
corrective actions such as staffing ratios, training plans, or
plans related to staff supervision;

(7)  Requires facilities to meet or exceed federal requirements
concerning the posting of deficiencies;

(8)  Makes it a class A misdemeanor for a division employee to
knowingly disclose the time of an unannounced inspection of a
facility licensed by the division and requires the division to
terminate his or her employment;

(9)  Raises the public assistance and Medicaid eligibility asset
limit from $2,000 to $7,000 for a couple.  The bill also allows
the elderly and persons qualifying for total disability benefits
with incomes up to 100% of the federal poverty level to qualify
for Medicaid;

(10)  Requires the Division of Medical Services to remit
Medicaid payments to long-term care facilities for newly
admitted residents within 45 days of admission; and

(11)  Requires the Division of Aging to restructure the adult
day care program by examining the program's requirements,
offering additional reimbursement for transportation to such
services, and streamlining regulations governing long-term care
facilities that offer adult day care services.

The bill has an emergency clause for the section requiring
background checks for certain healthcare workers.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost to General Revenue Fund of
$20,704,587 to $21,579,509 in FY 2002, $33,740,592 to
$34,818,392 in FY 2003, and $36,408,161 to $37,499,363 in FY
2004.  Cost does not include unknown costs for expansion of the
Shared Care Tax Credit.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill, which was developed
out of an interim committee's recommendations, is necessary for
several reasons, including the state's need to: (1)  increase
the speed of investigations of elder abuse; (2)  coordinate the
employee disqualification lists for persons working with
children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities; (3)
increase cooperation between the Division of Aging and law
enforcement officials when necessary; and (4)  increase
Missouri's individual and family asset limits for certain public
assistance moneys from $1,000 and $2,000, which are the lowest
in the nation, to $5,000 and $7,000 in order to reach elderly
persons who may need assistance for home residence fees or other
care.

Testifying for the bill were Representatives Hosmer and Ladd
Baker; Silver-haired Legislature; Community Leaders Assisting
the Insured of Missouri; AARP Jefferson City Chapter 4401; State
Auditor's Office; Missouri Health Care Association; Missouri
Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers; Missouri
Jewish Federations; Attorney General's Office; Missouri
Alzheimer's Association; Paraquad Inc.; Governor's Council on
Disability; St. Louis Chapter of American Red Cross; Independent
Living Centers; Missouri Consumer Health Care WATCH Coalition;
and Missouri Aging Federation.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Greg Linhares, Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated November 26, 2001 at 11:43 am