February 1, 2024 Update
No action was taken on HB 1859 during this legislative session, meaning the bill has “died” and will not be moving forward this session. We would not have seen this outcome had it not been for the nearly 2,600 votes made in opposition to this bill.
There is a possibility that HB 1859 will be reintroduced in the next legislative session. The sponsor of the bill has indicated that the next version of HB 1859 will be limited to one issue: the right for a resident to appeal a discharge to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). Currently, residents of skilled nursing facilities can appeal a discharge notice to OAH. That right is not outlined or expressed directly in law for people living in community settings such as assisted living and adult family homes. Even without that provision in law, some AFH residents have appealed to OAH, and those cases have been allowed to proceed through the administrative appeal process.
Please note that the Council does not object to ensuring that AFH residents have a right to appeal discharge notices. Defining the process in law would improve the current arbitrary application of nursing home regulations that we’ve seen from OAH and create protections for AFH providers. This is also an opportunity to discuss improving case management responses when a discharge is being considered and to seek funds to help offset unpaid participation.
If a version of HB 1859 is planned to be reintroduced next year, during the interim, we expect a meaningful stakeholder process that considers feedback from AFH providers, as well as the impact the bill’s proposed changes would have on AFH operation. We have proposed coming to a consensus on a revision of this legislation that fairly supports the rights of residents and providers. We will continue to keep everyone informed as we engage in conversations about appeals and discharges.
January 26, 2024 Update
The executive session for HB 1859, when the committee will vote on whether the bill moves forward, has now been scheduled for Wednesday, January 31.
January 24, 2024 Update
On January 23, House Bill 1859 concluded its public hearing, where the Health Care & Wellness Committee heard testimonies both for and against the bill. Testimonies were also backed by the stunning turnout of nearly 2,600 votes in opposition to HB 1859 from AFH providers, affiliate business partners, and members of the public. A video of the hearing, where the AFH Council testified in opposition to the bill, is available below.
The next step for this bill is to be voted on by the committee, known as an “executive session.” As of January 24, this session has not been scheduled. If the bill passes out of committee, we will have multiple opportunities to amend and/or halt the bill. If the committee does not take action before the end of January, the bill will die in committee, at least for the remainder of this legislative session.
Thank you to all who participated by submitting your votes and stories. A special thank you goes to our valiant members who shared our Member News posts about HB 1859 with their networks. We encourage all providers to consider membership with the Council to receive our ongoing updates and support our efforts to advocate for AFH provider rights. We will keep you up to date in the coming days with any additional opportunities to make your voices heard.
Dear Providers,
Thank you all for being so engaged in voting! Today, January 19, was the public hearing for HB 1859, a bill that seeks to expand ALL skilled nursing home federal rules to long-term care facilities in Washington state, including adult family homes. Unfortunately, the Council did not get the opportunity to testify today. The hearing was suspended and moved to Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at 1:30pm. There will be a new link to watch the hearing and this means the voting on the bill has been extended.
If you haven't yet voted CON on this bill, accidentally signed in pro, or want to express your support on this bill again, you can still vote until 12:30pm on Tuesday, January 23!
We are excited by the outstanding turnout on this bill. Prior to this extension, a total of 2,795 people voted on HB 1859. Out of that number, 1114 people voted PRO, 488 people voted OTHER, and 1,602 people voted CON.
It has been brought to our attention that many adult family home providers unintentionally signed in PRO for HB 1859 instead of CON. We love keeping you all up to date on issues that will impact your AFH, because your voices matter and they need to be heard — but PLEASE make sure that when you receive a legislative email from us, you read it thoroughly. AND if you need to vote, that you are selecting the right position for your vote. Always double check the information you have filled out before submitting. We want to make your voices heard, but we need your help to make sure we’re doing so accurately.
Please keep an eye out for additional communications from us regarding other updates on this bill and others as the legislative session progresses.
Additional Information on HB 1859
The below links include the original HB 1859 bill, the bill analysis and the federal rules nursing homes are required to follow.
One Response
We presently have a Medicaid Resident whose POA underpaid the amount of the Participation amount for 3 months in a row. After working with the POA, the POA issued a single check of nearly $3,000.00 to make up for the 3 months of short payments which we deposited immediately. A few days later, we received notice that the check was returned due to Non-Sufficient Funds. At that time, we began applying late charges and issued a move out notice due to non-payment. The NSF check was issued in August 2023 and since then, a Guardian and Conservator has been assigned. To date, we have not received payment for the original NSF amount, along with late fees and interest. Also, we have not received Participation payments for December 2023 and January 2024. The Guardianship is still being finalized so current payment can be made. Our Adult Family Home is a small business where we strive to provide the best care and conditions for our residents. It is hard to continue to operate a successful small business when we have people that don’t pay for the care they receive. Presently, we are owed over $8,000.00. We are not a billion-dollar corporation that is listed on Wall Street. We are in danger of losing everything we have invested in this business. Requiring Adult Family Homes to be treated like Nursing homes will cause many Providers to cancel their Medicaid Contracts and to raise their rates for Private-pay residents to pay for the increased costs being proposed.
One thing to think about: assuming 1 caregiver per shift, 24-hour coverage, and 365 days per year, without overtime, results in employer cost increase of about $11,000 per year to give each caregiver a one-dollar per hour raise. Adding a second person per shift will increase the employer cost by about $215,000.00; that does not include adding an RN to the 24-hour staffing schedule, We still need to cover food, utilities, garbage collection, pest control, laundry, mortgages, property and liability insurance for just a few examples. Where will the elderly residents live that are unable to afford the prices we will need to charge to comply with your proposals? What about the number of elderly that is increasing exponentially over the next 4 to 5 years?
HB 1859 has good intensions, but it will result in losing a very important part of the long-term care industry. The losers will be the elderly, of which I am one.
Comments are closed.