Unannounced Inspections to Commence Soon

California’s Home Care Organization Consumer Protection Act (the Act) required all home health care organizations (HCOs) to obtain a license from the Home Care Services Bureau (HCSB) of the Department of Social Services (DSS) by July 1, 2016 and to register their home care aides with the HCSB. See, You Snooze, You Lose ( April, 2016) and Home Health Care Organizations Last Chance to Continue Operations After June 30, 2016 (June, 2016).

For those HCOs that are now licensed, the HCSB will soon be implementing the next phase of the Act by commencing unannounced biennial (i.e., every two years) inspections of all licensees. See, Health and Safety Code 1796.52(b) and Written Directive 90-050(a). The HCSB analyst conducting the inspection will focus on an HCO’s compliance with applicable laws with final report to note any deficiencies found. The HCO will then need to implement a plan of correction to remedy each deficiency.

The HCSB has stated that it will start these inspections in late December, 2016 or January, 2017, minimally to include review of premises, books, and records. Refusal to permit an inspection is grounds for the HCSB to revoke an HCO’s license.

The HCSB has created an HCO inspection checklist. An HCO can use this document to confirm it has all relevant records hard copy and to determine and fix any potential deficiencies before an inspection occurs. Analysts will not accept electronic copies.

The analyst is to come to the inspection with all HCSB information on any outstanding fees; consumer complaints; the background checks of all associated home care aides, owners and administrative staff with access to clients; and the status of any waivers or exceptions to the Act’s provisions.

How long an inspection will take depends on the size of the HCO, how well it has organized its records, and the number of deficiencies found. Obviously, the better an HCO can prepare for the visit, the smoother and faster the inspection is likely to go.

In its October webinar, the HCSB encouraged HCOs to provide feedback during this initial inspection process.

For more information, please contact one of our attorneys Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

Helena Kobrin

December 1, 2016