As previously reported, section 1150B of the Social Security Act (the Act), as established by section 6703(b)(3) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Affordable Care Act), requires specific individuals in applicable long-term care facilities to report any reasonable suspicion of crimes committed against a resident of that facility.

Care Providers of Minnesota has made numerous attempts to work with CMS, CMS Region V, and our state survey agency to gather additional details on how this new reporting requirement will be communicated, how training will be conducted, details on reporting processes, and oversight.

The closest we have come to firm answers from CMS is found in S&C 11-30-NH. View the most current version of the S&C here. We have had a number of discussions with representatives from the Minnesota Department of Health, and we know that contacting the Office of Health Facility Complaints (OHFC) will be an acceptable method of satisfying the reporting requirements to the state survey agency. Each nursing facility will need to determine the contact for the second required notification, that of the local law enforcement agency of jurisdiction.

These reporting requirements apply to skilled nursing facilities, nursing facilities, and to hospice staff providing services to nursing home residents. The reporting requirements do not apply to home care or housing with services staff.

Care Providers of Minnesota and the American Health Care Association have developed a series of resources, tools, and templates to help our members comply with this law. We have set up a new section on the “Regulatory Resources” page of our website titled, “Elder Justice Act Reporting Requirements Resources.” Resources located there include (click on each link for the resource):

• Summary of the reporting requirement
• CMS S&C: 11-30-NH reporting directives
• CMS S&C: 11-30-NH updated Q&A’s
• Template for required facility poster — customize this 11” x 14” poster to fit the needs of your facility. The template includes all the required elements of the poster each facility must have posted by other employee-related postings (minimum wage, etc.).
• Template for communicating requirement to local law enforcement — use this letter template to begin the communications with your local law enforcement agency regarding the new reporting requirements.
• Template facility policy and procedure — customize this policy and procedure template to fit your format and facility-specific information.

Care Providers of Minnesota will continue to provide updates on this requirement as they become available. We will also be having a breakout educational session at our upcoming convention on this topic!

Doug Beardsley
952.851.2489
dbeardsl@careproviders.org

Our Sponsors