On or before April 6, 2012 the California Department of Public Health will require  all nursing homes to use a State issued Standard Admission Agreement (SAA). This means that all skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities will use the same standard agreement and attachments to the agreement, which will replace admissions contracts or agreements written by individual nursing home operators . The SAA defines the rights and obligations of each party to the agreement.

The SAA and attachments are available at California Department of Public Health Website. The form number for the  SAA and its attachments  is CDPH 327. The form and its attachments contain a lot of useful consumer information, including the contact information for the Ombudsman program and lists of the supplies and services that are covered by Medi-Cal and Medicare. The final attachment is The Resident Bill of Rights,  created by the State of California Department of Public Health.  The Resident Bill of Rights is a compilation of law from a number of sources, which are now conveniently gathered into one document.

The rights are found in state laws and regulations under California Health and Safety Code Section 1599; Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 72527 for Skilled Nursing Facilities, and Section 73523 for Intermediate Care Facilities; and Chapter 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter IV, Part 483.10 et seq. The California Health and Safety Code is abbreviated as “HSC,” Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations is abbreviated as “22CCR,” and Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations is abbreviated as “42CFR.”

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.