Senior Safety and Dignity Act of 2007
Latest action · Mar 23, 2007 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 12, 2007
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Senior Safety and Dignity Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) and title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to include in the nursing home patient's bill of rights the right to receive care from a creditable caregiver.
Requires a skilled nursing facility (SNF), before hiring a worker, to conduct a background check on the applicant. Prohibits the hiring of abusive workers or workers convicted of a relevant crime. Establishes civil penalties for violations of this Act, including knowing retention of SNF workers who fail background checks.
Applies such requirements and prohibitions to a long-term care facility or provider.
Directs the Secretary to establish a national criminal background check program, after evaluation of the pilot program under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, in order to prevent abuse of nursing facility and SNF residents and individuals receiving home health care services and other long-term care services under the Medicare or Medicaid programs. Requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct such criminal background checks.
Requires the national criminal background check program to be made available to a long-term care facility or provider.
Adds to the nursing home patient's bill of rights the right to a safe environment during an emergency or natural disaster.
Requires a SNF under Medicare and Medicaid to: (1) have a clear and preestablished disaster plan; and (2) inform residents and next-of-kin about it and the location of possible evacuation in case of an emergency disaster.
Applies the same requirement to other long-term care facilities.
Cosponsors 18
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 12, 2007 to Jun 19, 2008; 13 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-MI | Candice S. Miller | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-LA | Charles W. Boustany, Jr. | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-CT | Christopher Shays | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-MI | Fred Upton | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-NV | Jon C. Porter | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-IL | Judy Biggert | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-IL | Mark Kirk | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-IL | Peter J. Roskam | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-GA | Phil Gingrey | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-MD | Roscoe G. Bartlett | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-OH | Steve Chabot | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-FL | Tom Feeney | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-MD | Wayne T. Gilchrest | Original | Mar 12, 2007 |
| R-WA | David G. Reichert | Mar 28, 2007 | |
| R-TX | Pete Sessions | Mar 28, 2007 | |
| R-GA | Tom Price | Mar 28, 2007 | |
| R-PA | Todd Russell Platts | Aug 3, 2007 | |
| R-NV | Dean Heller | Jun 19, 2008 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Mar 12, 2007 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Mar 23, 2007 | |
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Mar 12, 2007 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Mar 13, 2007 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 23, 2007Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Mar 13, 2007Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Mar 12, 2007Introduced in House
- Mar 12, 2007Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to expand the nursing home patients' bill of rights to include the right to receive care from a credible caregiver by requiring background checks on direct access employees and the right to a safe environment during an emergency or natural disaster by requiring nursing long-term care facilities to establish disaster emergency and evacuation plans.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Senior Safety and Dignity Act of 2007
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Administrative procedure
- Commerce
- Consumer education
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Criminal justice information
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Disasters
- Elder abuse
- Emergency Management
- Employee selection
- Evacuation of civilians
- Fines (Penalties)
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Health
- Home care services
- Hospitals
- Identification of criminals
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Long-term care
- Medicaid
- Medicare
- Mental care facilities
- Nursing homes
- Patients' rights
- Planning
- Social Welfare
- Terminal care facilities
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 12, 2007Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
