Nationwide program for national and State background checks on direct patient access employees of long-term care facilities and providers

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the “Secretary”), shall establish a program to identify efficient, effective, and economical procedures for long term care facilities or providers to conduct background checks on prospective direct patient access employees on a nationwide basis (in this subsection, such program shall be referred to as the “nationwide program”). Except for the following modifications, the Secretary shall carry out the nationwide program under similar terms and conditions as the pilot program under section 307 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–173; 117 Stat. 2257), including the prohibition on hiring abusive workers and the authorization of the imposition of penalties by a participating State under subsection (b)(3)(A) and (b)(6), respectively, of such section 307: The Secretary shall enter into agreements with each State— The Secretary shall enter into agreements with each State— The selection criteria required under subsection (c)(3)(B) of such section 307 shall not apply. The procedures established under subsection (b)(1) of such section 307 shall— An agreement entered into under paragraph (1) shall require that a participating State— have procedures in place to— provide for the designation of a single State agency as responsible for— describe and test methods that reduce duplicative fingerprinting, including providing for the development of “rap back” capability such that, if a direct patient access employee of a long-term care facility or provider is convicted of a crime following the initial criminal history background check conducted with respect to such employee, and the employee’s fingerprints match the prints on file with the State law enforcement department— As part of the application submitted by a State under paragraph (1)(A)(iii), the State shall guarantee, with respect to the costs to be incurred by the State in carrying out the nationwide program, that the State will make available (directly or through donations from public or private entities) a particular amount of non-Federal contributions, as a condition of receiving the Federal match under clause (ii). The payment amount to each State that the Secretary enters into an agreement with under paragraph (1)(A) shall be 3 times the amount that the State guarantees to make available under clause (i), except that in no case may the payment amount exceed $3,000,000. As part of the application submitted by a State under paragraph (1)(B)(iii), the State shall guarantee, with respect to the costs to be incurred by the State in carrying out the nationwide program, that the State will make available (directly or through donations from public or private entities) a particular amount of non-Federal contributions, as a condition of receiving the Federal match under clause (ii). The payment amount to each State that the Secretary enters into an agreement with under paragraph (1)(B) shall be 3 times the amount that the State guarantees to make available under clause (i), except that in no case may the payment amount exceed $1,500,000. Under the nationwide program: The term “conviction for a relevant crime” means any Federal or State criminal conviction for— The term “disqualifying information” means a conviction for a relevant crime or a finding of patient or resident abuse. The term “finding of patient or resident abuse” means any substantiated finding by a State agency under section 1819(g)(1)(C) or 1919(g)(1)(C) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i–3(g)(1)(C), 1396r(g)(1)(C)) or a Federal agency that a direct patient access employee has committed— The term “direct patient access employee” means any individual who has access to a patient or resident of a long-term care facility or provider through employment or through a contract with such facility or provider and has duties that involve (or may involve) one-on-one contact with a patient or resident of the facility or provider, as determined by the State for purposes of the nationwide program. Such term does not include a volunteer unless the volunteer has duties that are equivalent to the duties of a direct patient access employee and those duties involve (or may involve) one-on-one contact with a patient or resident of the long-term care facility or provider. The term “long-term care facility or provider” means the following facilities or providers which receive payment for services under title XVIII or XIX of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq., 1396 et seq.]: The Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services shall conduct an evaluation of the nationwide program. The evaluation conducted under clause (i) shall include the following: Not later than 180 days after the completion of the nationwide program, the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services shall submit a report to Congress containing the results of the evaluation conducted under subparagraph (A). The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall notify the Secretary of the Treasury of the amount necessary to carry out the nationwide program under this section for the period of fiscal years 2010 through 2012, except that in no case shall such amount exceed $160,000,000. Out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall provide for the transfer to the Secretary of Health and Human Services of the amount specified as necessary to carry out the nationwide program under paragraph (1). Such amount shall remain available until expended. The Secretary may reserve not more than $3,000,000 of the amount transferred under subparagraph (A) to provide for the conduct of the evaluation under subsection (a)(7)(A).