SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for SB 1848
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 601616
                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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11  Senator Brown-Waite moved the following amendment:
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13         Senate Amendment 
14         On page 2, lines 11-29, delete those lines
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16  and insert:  
17         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public
18  necessity to protect the identity of claimants, nursing homes
19  and assisted living facilities in the monthly reporting of
20  claims to the Agency for Health Care Administration. The
21  monthly reports detail the names of claimants and facilities,
22  the alleged type of injury or violation and dates of
23  occurrence. Such claims are preliminary allegations that may
24  not possess merit. The availability of such unverified,
25  preliminary claims may serve to adversely affect facility
26  admissions, ownership value, ability to obtain financing,
27  ability to retain staff, and business reputation. Such
28  negative impacts on a facility, based upon raw data that has
29  not been verified, may limit the facility's ability to provide
30  the best care to its residents, potentially affecting quality
31  of care. The Legislature finds that it is not in the best
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    11:10 AM   04/30/01                              s1848.hc10.w1


                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for SB 1848
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 601616
 1  interests of the claimants and facilities to make such
 2  sensitive information publicly available. Claimants will be
 3  forced to choose between either filing a claim regarding a
 4  facility to protect their rights, or alternatively, maintain
 5  their privacy regarding long-term care provided to themselves
 6  or a relative. The Legislature finds that the public will have
 7  the benefit of aggregated facility claims data by access to
 8  the agency's annual reports on long-term care claims to the
 9  Legislature, presented on a by-county basis. The Legislature
10  also finds that those claims with sufficient merit to result
11  in a formal legal complaint filed in a court of law, will as
12  well be public information. Accordingly, the Legislature finds
13  that the harm to facility residents and facilities due to the
14  release of preliminary claims substantially outweighs any
15  minimal public benefit derived therefrom.
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    11:10 AM   04/30/01                              s1848.hc10.w1