Reporting to law enforcement of crimes occurring in federally funded long-term care facilities

The owner or operator of each long-term care facility that receives Federal funds under this chapter shall annually determine whether the facility received at least $10,000 in such Federal funds during the preceding year. If the owner or operator determines under paragraph (1) that the facility received at least $10,000 in such Federal funds during the preceding year, such owner or operator shall annually notify each covered individual (as defined in paragraph (3)) of that individual’s obligation to comply with the reporting requirements described in subsection (b). In this section, the term “covered individual” means each individual who is an owner, operator, employee, manager, agent, or contractor of a long-term care facility that is the subject of a determination described in paragraph (1). Each covered individual shall report to the Secretary and 1 or more law enforcement entities for the political subdivision in which the facility is located any reasonable suspicion of a crime (as defined by the law of the applicable political subdivision) against any individual who is a resident of, or is receiving care from, the facility. If the events that cause the suspicion— If a covered individual violates subsection (b)— If a covered individual violates subsection (b) and the violation exacerbates the harm to the victim of the crime or results in harm to another individual— During any period for which a covered individual is classified as an excluded individual under paragraph (1)(B) or (2)(B), a long-term care facility that employs such individual shall be ineligible to receive Federal funds under this chapter. The Secretary may take into account the financial burden on providers with underserved populations in determining any penalty to be imposed under this subsection. In this paragraph, the term “underserved population” means the population of an area designated by the Secretary as an area with a shortage of elder justice programs or a population group designated by the Secretary as having a shortage of such programs. Such areas or groups designated by the Secretary may include— A long-term care facility may not— If a long-term care facility violates subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) the facility shall be subject to a civil money penalty of not more than $200,000 or the Secretary may classify the entity as an excluded entity for a period of 2 years pursuant to section 1320a–7(b) of this title, or both. Each long-term care facility shall post conspicuously in an appropriate location a sign (in a form specified by the Secretary) specifying the rights of employees under this section. Such sign shall include a statement that an employee may file a complaint with the Secretary against a long-term care facility that violates the provisions of this subsection and information with respect to the manner of filing such a complaint. The provisions of section 1320a–7a of this title (other than subsections (a) and (b) and the second sentence of subsection (f)) shall apply to a civil money penalty or exclusion under this section in the same manner as such provisions apply to a penalty or proceeding under section 1320a–7a(a) of this title. In this section, the terms “elder justice”, “long-term care facility”, and “law enforcement” have the meanings given those terms in section 1397j of this title.