View Daily Data Tracking History
View Bill Text
View Amendment
View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact
S1157aa,aa............................................by HEALTH AND WELFARE
NURSING FACILITIES - Amends and adds to existing law to establish a
prelitigation procedure to attempt an out-of-court resolution of negligence
or wrongful death claims against licensed nursing facilities.
02/12 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/15 Rpt prt - to Health/Wel
02/23 Rpt out - to 14th Ord
02/23 Rpt out amen - to engros
02/24 Rpt engros - to 14th Ord - rpt out amen - to engros
02/25 Rpt engros - 1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen
02/26 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
03/03 3rd rdg as amen - PASSED - 32-1-2
AYES--Andreason, Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron,
Danielson, Darrington, Davis, Deide, Dunklin, Frasure, Geddes,
Hawkins, Ingram, Ipsen, Keough, King, Lee, McLaughlin, Noh,
Richardson, Riggs, Risch, Sandy, Schroeder, Stegner, Stennett,
Thorne, Twiggs, Wheeler, Whitworth
NAYS--Crow
Absent and excused--Parry, Sorensen
Floor Sponsor - Wheeler
Title apvd - to House
03/04 House intro - 1st rdg as amen - to Health/Wel
03/11 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg as amen
03/12 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
03/16 3rd rdg as amen - PASSED - 51-13-6
AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bell, Bruneel, Callister,
Campbell, Clark, Crow, Cuddy, Deal, Denney, Ellsworth, Field(13),
Field(20), Geddes, Hadley, Hammond, Hansen(23), Hornbeck, Kellogg,
Kempton, Kendell, Kunz, Lake, Limbaugh, Linford, Loertscher, McKague,
Meyer(Duncan), Montgomery, Mortensen, Moyle, Pischner, Pomeroy,
Reynolds, Ridinger, Sali, Schaefer, Sellman, Smylie, Stevenson,
Stone, Taylor, Tilman, Tippets, Trail, Watson, Williams, Wood,
Zimmermann
NAYS -- Bieter, Boe, Chase, Gould, Henbest, Jaquet, Jones, Judd,
Marley, Ringo, Robison, Smith, Stoicheff
Absent and excused -- Black, Gagner, Hansen(29), Mader, Wheeler,
Mr Speaker
Floor Sponsor - Sali
Title apvd - to Senate
03/17 To enrol - rpt enrol - Pres signed
03/18 Sp signed
03/19 To Governor
03/29 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 395
Effective: 07/01/99
S1157|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session - 1999IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1157, As Amended, As Amended BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO PRELITIGATION SCREENING OF CLAIMS AGAINST LICENSED NURSING FACILI- 3 TIES; AMENDING TITLE 6, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW CHAPTER 23, 4 TITLE 6, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR A HEARING PANEL FOR PRELITIGATION CON- 5 SIDERATION OF NEGLIGENCE OR WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS AGAINST NURSING FACILI- 6 TIES, TO PROVIDE FOR APPOINTMENT OF THE PANEL, TO PROVIDE FEES AND CONFI- 7 DENTIALITY AND TO PROVIDE APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE PANEL'S DELIBERATIONS; 8 AMENDING SECTION 54-1604, IDAHO CODE, TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD TO COLLECT 9 FEES; AMENDING SECTION 9-340C, IDAHO CODE, AS ADDED BY HOUSE BILL 93, 10 ENACTED BY THE FIRST REGULAR SESSION, FIFTY-FIFTH IDAHO LEGISLATURE, TO 11 PROVIDE THAT RECORDS OF A PRELITIGATION PANEL CONDUCTED PURSUANT TO CHAP- 12 TER 23, TITLE 6, IDAHO CODE, SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE, TO PROVIDE 13 THAT RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELFARE RELATING TO A SURVEY, 14 RESURVEY OR COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION OF A LICENSED NURSING FACILITY SHALL 15 BE EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE FOR A LIMITED PERIOD OF TIME AND TO MAKE A TECH- 16 NICAL CORRECTION; AND PROVIDING SEVERABILITY. 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 18 SECTION 1. That Title 6, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended 19 by the addition thereto of a NEW CHAPTER , to be known and desig- 20 nated as Chapter 23, Title 6, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 21 CHAPTER 23 22 CLAIMS AGAINST NURSING FACILITIES 23 6-2301. PRELITIGATION HEARING PANEL -- LICENSED NURSING FACILITIES. In 24 the event of an alleged negligence or wrongful death case involving a claim 25 for damages against a licensed nursing facility operating in the state of 26 Idaho, the Idaho state board of examiners of nursing home administrators is 27 directed to cooperate in providing a prelitigation hearing panel. The panel 28 shall operate in the nature of a special civil grand jury and procedure for 29 prelitigation consideration of personal injury and wrongful death claims for 30 damages arising out of the provision of or alleged failure to provide medical, 31 nursing, or health care services in the state of Idaho. The proceedings shall 32 be informal and nonbinding, but shall be compulsory as a condition precedent 33 to litigation. Proceedings conducted or maintained under the authority of this 34 chapter shall at all times be subject to disclosure according to chapter 3, 35 title 9, Idaho Code. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply and all proceed- 36 ings shall be expeditious and informal. 37 6-2302. APPOINTMENT OF HEARING PANEL. The board of examiners of nursing 38 home administrators shall provide for and appoint an appropriate panel or 39 panels to accept and hear complaints of negligence and damages, made by or on 40 behalf of any patient who is an alleged victim of negligence. The panels shall 41 include one (1) person who is a then serving licensed administrator of a 2 1 licensed nursing facility in the state of Idaho. One (1) additional member of 2 each such panel shall be appointed by the commissioners of the Idaho state 3 bar, which person shall be a resident lawyer licensed to practice law in the 4 state of Idaho, and shall serve as chairman of the panel. The panelists so 5 appointed shall select by unanimous decision a layman panelist who shall not 6 be a lawyer, doctor or nursing facility employee but who shall be a responsi- 7 ble adult citizen of Idaho. All panelists shall swear under oath that they are 8 without bias or conflict of interest as respects any matter under consider- 9 ation. 10 6-2303. FEES -- CONFIDENTIALITY. The Idaho state board of examiners of 11 nursing home administrators shall provide, by uniform policy of the board, for 12 the payment of fees and expenses of members of panels, such payment to be made 13 from the occupational licenses fund. Panel members shall serve upon the sworn 14 commitment that all related matters shall be subject to disclosure according 15 to chapter 3, title 9, Idaho Code, and privileged. 16 6-2304. APPLICATION OF LAWS. Sections 6-1003, 6-1004, 6-1005, 6-1006, 17 6-1007, 6-1008, 6-1009 and 6-1011, Idaho Code, shall apply to prelitigation 18 panels conducted pursuant to this chapter. 19 SECTION 2. That Section 54-1604, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 20 amended to read as follows: 21 54-1604. FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF BOARD -- FEE FOR LICENSE APPLICANTS -- 22 RULES AND REGULATIONS. (1) It shall be the functions and duties of such board 23 to: 24 (a) Develop, impose, and enforce standards consistent with this act which 25 shall be met by individuals in order to receive and retain a license as a 26 nursing home administrator which standard shall be designed to insure that 27 nursing home administrators will be individuals who are of good character 28 and are otherwise suitable, and who, by training or experience in the 29 field of institutional administration, are qualified to serve as nursing 30 home administrators; 31 (b) Develop and apply appropriate techniques, including examinations and 32 investigations, for determining whether an individual meets such stan- 33 dards; 34 (c) Issue licenses and registrations to individuals determined, after 35 application of such techniques, to meet such standards, and revoke or sus- 36 pend licenses and registrations previously issued by the board in any case 37 where the individual holding any such license or registration is deter- 38 mined substantially to have failed to conform to the requirements of such 39 standards; 40 (d) Establish and carry out procedures designated to insure that individ- 41 uals licensed as nursing home administrators will, during any period that 42 they serve as such, comply with the requirements of such standards; 43 (e) Receive, investigate, and take appropriate action with respect to any 44 charge or complaint filed with the board charging that any individual 45 licensed as a nursing home administrator has failed to comply with the 46 requirements of such standards; 47 (f) Conduct a continuing study and investigation of administrators of 48 nursing homes within the state with a view to the improvement of the stan- 49 dards imposed for the licensing of such administrators and of procedures 50 and methods for the enforcement of such standards with respect to adminis- 51 trators of nursing homes who have been licensed as such; 3 1 (g) The fee to be paid by applicants for licenses, recertification of 2 registration and applicants seeking a reciprocal endorsement of a license 3 issued by the proper authorities in another state, shall be set by board 4 rule in an amount not to exceed eighty-five dollars ($85.00). 5 (2) The board or any committee or member thereof or any hearing officer 6 designated by such board, acting in an official capacity, shall have powers 7 and duties as provided by law. 8 Such board shall not be bound by the strict rules of evidence in the con- 9 duct of its proceedings but any determinations made shall be founded upon suf- 10 ficient legal evidence to sustain them. 11 (3) The board shall also have the authority to make rules not inconsis- 12 tent with law as may be necessary for the proper performance of its duties, 13 and to take such other actions as may be necessary to enable the state to meet 14 the requirements set forth in section 1908 of the "Social Security Act," the 15 federal rules promulgated thereunder, and other pertinent federal require- 16 ments. 17 (4) The board shall have the authority to collect from the state 18 association representing nursing homes in Idaho an amount as is necessary to 19 fully reimburse the board for all expenses relating to prelitigation panels 20 conducted pursuant to chapter 23, title 6, Idaho Code. Funds collected by the 21 board pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the occupational 22 licenses fund. 23 SECTION 3. That Section 9-340C, Idaho Code, as added by House Bill 93, 24 enacted by the First Regular Session of the Fifty-fifth Idaho Legislature, be, 25 and the same is hereby amended to read as follows: 26 9-340C. RECORDS EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE -- PERSONNEL RECORDS, PERSONAL 27 INFORMATION, HEALTH RECORDS, PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINE. The following records 28 are exempt from disclosure: 29 (1) Except as provided in this subsection, all personnel records of a 30 current or former public official other than the public official's public ser- 31 vice or employment history, classification, pay grade and step, longevity, 32 gross salary and salary history, status, workplace and employing agency. All 33 other personnel information relating to a public employee or applicant includ- 34 ing, but not limited to, information regarding sex, race, marital status, 35 birth date, home address and telephone number, applications, testing and 36 scoring materials, grievances, correspondence and performance evaluations, 37 shall not be disclosed to the public without the employee's or applicant's 38 written consent. A public official or authorized representative may inspect 39 and copy his personnel records, except for material used to screen and test 40 for employment. 41 (2) Retired employees' and retired public officials' home addresses, home 42 telephone numbers and other financial and nonfinancial membership records; 43 active and inactive member financial and membership records and mortgage port- 44 folio loan documents maintained by the public employee retirement system. 45 Financial statements prepared by retirement system staff, funding agents and 46 custodians concerning the investment of assets of the public employee retire- 47 ment system of Idaho are not considered confidential under this chapter. 48 (3) Information and records submitted to the Idaho state lottery for the 49 performance of background investigations of employees, lottery retailers and 50 major procurement contractors; audit records of lottery retailers, vendors and 51 major procurement contractors submitted to or performed by the Idaho state 52 lottery; validation and security tests of the state lottery for lottery games; 53 business records and information submitted pursuant to sections 67-7412(8) and 4 1 (9) and 67-7421(8) and (9), Idaho Code, and such documents and information 2 obtained and held for the purposes of lottery security and investigative 3 action as determined by lottery rules unless the public interest in disclosure 4 substantially outweighs the private need for protection from public disclo- 5 sure. 6 (4) Records of a personal nature as follows: 7 (a) Records of personal debt filed with a public agency pursuant to law; 8 (b) Personal bank records compiled by a public depositor for the purpose 9 of public funds transactions conducted pursuant to law; 10 (c) Records of ownership of financial obligations and instruments of a 11 public agency, such as bonds, compiled by the public agency pursuant to 12 law; 13 (d) Records, with regard to the ownership of, or security interests in, 14 registered public obligations; 15 (e) Vital statistics records. 16 (5) Information in an income or other tax return measured by items of 17 income or sales, which is gathered by a public agency for the purpose of 18 administering the tax, except such information to the extent disclosed in a 19 written decision of the tax commission pursuant to a taxpayer protest of a 20 deficiency determination by the tax commission, under the provisions of sec- 21 tion 63-3045B, Idaho Code. 22 (6) Records of a personal nature related directly or indirectly to the 23 application for and provision of statutory services rendered to persons apply- 24 ing for public care for the elderly, indigent, or mentally or physically hand- 25 icapped, or participation in an environmental or a public health study, pro- 26 vided the provisions of this subsection making records exempt from disclosure 27 shall not apply to the extent that such records or information contained in 28 those records are necessary for a background check on an individual that is 29 required by federal law regulating the sale of firearms, guns or ammunition. 30 (7) Employment security information and unemployment insurance benefit 31 information, except that all interested parties may agree to waive the exemp- 32 tion. 33 (8) Any personal records, other than names, business addresses and busi- 34 ness phone numbers, such as parentage, race, religion, sex, height, weight, 35 tax identification and social security numbers, financial worth or medical 36 condition submitted to any public agency pursuant to a statutory requirement 37 for licensing, certification, permit or bonding. 38 (9) Unless otherwise provided by agency rule, information obtained as 39 part of an inquiry into a person's fitness to be granted or retain a license, 40 certificate, permit, privilege, commission or position, private association 41 peer review committee records authorized in title 54, Idaho Code. Any agency 42 which has records exempt from disclosure under the provisions of this subsec- 43 tion shall annually make available a statistical summary of the number and 44 types of matters considered and their disposition. 45 (10) The records, finding, determinations and decision of any prelitiga- 46 tion screening panel formed under chapter s 10 and 23 47 , title 6, Idaho Code. 48 (11) Board of professional discipline reprimands by informal admonition 49 pursuant to subsection (6)(f) of section 54-1806A, Idaho Code. 50 (12) Records of the department of health and welfare or a public health 51 district that identify a person infected with a reportable disease. 52 (13) Records of hospital care, medical records, records of psychiatric 53 care or treatment and professional counseling records relating to an 54 individual's condition, diagnosis, care or treatment, provided the provisions 55 of this subsection making records exempt from disclosure shall not apply to 5 1 the extent that such records or information contained in those records are 2 necessary for a background check on an individual that is required by federal 3 law regulating the sale of firearms, guns or ammunition. 4 (14) Information collected pursuant to the directory of new hires act, 5 chapter 16, title 72, Idaho Code. 6 (15) Personal information contained in motor vehicle and driver records 7 that is exempt from disclosure under the provisions of chapter 2, title 49, 8 Idaho Code. 9 (16) Records of the financial status of prisoners pursuant to subsection 10 (2) of section 20-607, Idaho Code. 11 (17) Records of the department of law enforcement or department of correc- 12 tion received or maintained pursuant to section 19-5514, Idaho Code, relating 13 to DNA databases and databanks. 14 (18) Records of the department of health and welfare relating to a 15 survey, resurvey or complaint investigation of a licensed nursing facility 16 shall be exempt from disclosure. Such records shall, however, be subject to 17 disclosure as public records on and after the fourteenth day following the 18 date that department of health and welfare representatives officially exit the 19 facility pursuant to federal regulations. Provided however, that for purposes 20 of confidentiality, no record shall be released under this section which spe- 21 cifically identifies any nursing facility resident. 22 SECTION 4. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this act are hereby declared 23 to be severable and if any provision of this act or the application of such 24 provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid for any reason, 25 such declaration shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of 26 this act.
AS1157|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session - 1999Moved by Wheeler Seconded by Ipsen IN THE SENATE SENATE AMENDMENT TO S.B. NO. 1157 1 AMENDMENT TO SECTION 3 2 On page 3 of the printed bill, in line 30, following " association 3 " delete " (s) ". 4 AMENDMENTS TO THE BILL 5 On page 2, delete lines 21 through 28, and renumber subsequent sections of 6 the bill accordingly. 7 On page 3, delete lines 35 through 53, inclusive, delete all of pages 4 8 through 9, inclusive, and on page 10, delete lines 1 through 15, and insert: 9 "SECTION 3. That Section 9-340C, Idaho Code, as added by House Bill 93, 10 enacted by the First Regular Session of the Fifty-fifth Idaho Legislature, be, 11 and the same is hereby amended to read as follows: 12 9-340C. RECORDS EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE -- PERSONNEL RECORDS, PERSONAL 13 INFORMATION, HEALTH RECORDS, PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINE. The following records 14 are exempt from disclosure: 15 (1) Except as provided in this subsection, all personnel records of a 16 current or former public official other than the public official's public ser- 17 vice or employment history, classification, pay grade and step, longevity, 18 gross salary and salary history, status, workplace and employing agency. All 19 other personnel information relating to a public employee or applicant includ- 20 ing, but not limited to, information regarding sex, race, marital status, 21 birth date, home address and telephone number, applications, testing and 22 scoring materials, grievances, correspondence and performance evaluations, 23 shall not be disclosed to the public without the employee's or applicant's 24 written consent. A public official or authorized representative may inspect 25 and copy his personnel records, except for material used to screen and test 26 for employment. 27 (2) Retired employees' and retired public officials' home addresses, home 28 telephone numbers and other financial and nonfinancial membership records; 29 active and inactive member financial and membership records and mortgage port- 30 folio loan documents maintained by the public employee retirement system. 31 Financial statements prepared by retirement system staff, funding agents and 32 custodians concerning the investment of assets of the public employee retire- 33 ment system of Idaho are not considered confidential under this chapter. 34 (3) Information and records submitted to the Idaho state lottery for the 35 performance of background investigations of employees, lottery retailers and 36 major procurement contractors; audit records of lottery retailers, vendors and 37 major procurement contractors submitted to or performed by the Idaho state 38 lottery; validation and security tests of the state lottery for lottery games; 39 business records and information submitted pursuant to sections 67-7412(8) and 40 (9) and 67-7421(8) and (9), Idaho Code, and such documents and information 41 obtained and held for the purposes of lottery security and investigative 2 1 action as determined by lottery rules unless the public interest in disclosure 2 substantially outweighs the private need for protection from public disclo- 3 sure. 4 (4) Records of a personal nature as follows: 5 (a) Records of personal debt filed with a public agency pursuant to law; 6 (b) Personal bank records compiled by a public depositor for the purpose 7 of public funds transactions conducted pursuant to law; 8 (c) Records of ownership of financial obligations and instruments of a 9 public agency, such as bonds, compiled by the public agency pursuant to 10 law; 11 (d) Records, with regard to the ownership of, or security interests in, 12 registered public obligations; 13 (e) Vital statistics records. 14 (5) Information in an income or other tax return measured by items of 15 income or sales, which is gathered by a public agency for the purpose of 16 administering the tax, except such information to the extent disclosed in a 17 written decision of the tax commission pursuant to a taxpayer protest of a 18 deficiency determination by the tax commission, under the provisions of sec- 19 tion 63-3045B, Idaho Code. 20 (6) Records of a personal nature related directly or indirectly to the 21 application for and provision of statutory services rendered to persons apply- 22 ing for public care for the elderly, indigent, or mentally or physically hand- 23 icapped, or participation in an environmental or a public health study, pro- 24 vided the provisions of this subsection making records exempt from disclosure 25 shall not apply to the extent that such records or information contained in 26 those records are necessary for a background check on an individual that is 27 required by federal law regulating the sale of firearms, guns or ammunition. 28 (7) Employment security information and unemployment insurance benefit 29 information, except that all interested parties may agree to waive the exemp- 30 tion. 31 (8) Any personal records, other than names, business addresses and busi- 32 ness phone numbers, such as parentage, race, religion, sex, height, weight, 33 tax identification and social security numbers, financial worth or medical 34 condition submitted to any public agency pursuant to a statutory requirement 35 for licensing, certification, permit or bonding. 36 (9) Unless otherwise provided by agency rule, information obtained as 37 part of an inquiry into a person's fitness to be granted or retain a license, 38 certificate, permit, privilege, commission or position, private association 39 peer review committee records authorized in title 54, Idaho Code. Any agency 40 which has records exempt from disclosure under the provisions of this subsec- 41 tion shall annually make available a statistical summary of the number and 42 types of matters considered and their disposition. 43 (10) The records, finding, determinations and decision of any prelitiga- 44 tion screening panel formed under chapter 10, title 6, Idaho Code. 45 (11) Board of professional discipline reprimands by informal admonition 46 pursuant to subsection (6)(f) of section 54-1806A, Idaho Code. 47 (12) Records of the department of health and welfare or a public health 48 district that identify a person infected with a reportable disease. 49 (13) Records of hospital care, medical records, records of psychiatric 50 care or treatment and professional counseling records relating to an 51 individual's condition, diagnosis, care or treatment, provided the provisions 52 of this subsection making records exempt from disclosure shall not apply to 53 the extent that such records or information contained in those records are 54 necessary for a background check on an individual that is required by federal 55 law regulating the sale of firearms, guns or ammunition. ]]] 3 1 (14) Information collected pursuant to the directory of new hires act, 2 chapter 16, title 72, Idaho Code. 3 (15) Personal information contained in motor vehicle and driver records 4 that is exempt from disclosure under the provisions of chapter 2, title 49, 5 Idaho Code. 6 (16) Records of the financial status of prisoners pursuant to subsection 7 (2) of section 20-607, Idaho Code. 8 (17) Records of the department of law enforcement or department of correc- 9 tion received or maintained pursuant to section 19-5514, Idaho Code, relating 10 to DNA databases and databanks. 11 (18) Records of the department of health and welfare relating to a 12 survey, resurvey or complaint investigation of a licensed nursing facility 13 shall be exempt from disclosure. Such records shall, however, be subject to 14 disclosure as public records on and after the fourteenth day following the 15 date that department of health and welfare representatives officially exit the 16 facility pursuant to federal regulations. Provided however, that for purposes 17 of confidentiality, no record shall be released under this section which spe- 18 cifically identifies any nursing facility resident. ". 19 CORRECTIONS TO TITLE 20 On page 1, delete lines 8, 9 and 10; and in line 12, following "9-340" 21 insert: "C", and also in line 12, following "CODE," insert: "AS ADDED BY HOUSE 22 BILL 93, ENACTED BY THE FIRST REGULAR SESSION, FIFTY-FIFTH IDAHO LEGISLA- 23 TURE,". Moved by Wheeler Seconded by Ipsen IN THE SENATE SENATE AMENDMENT TO S.B. NO. 1157, As Amended 24 AMENDMENT TO SECTION 3 25 On page 4 of the engrossed bill, in line 46, following "chapter" 26 insert: " s "; and also in line 46, following "10" insert: " 27 and 23 ".
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 08860
The purpose of this legislation is to encourage out-of-court resolution of claims against
skilled nursing facilities through the accelerated identification of both meritorious claims and
frivolous claims. Accelerated identification of claims would be facilitated through the use of a
prelitigation screening process. Currently, only malpractice claims against physicians and
hospitals in Idaho are subject to a pre-litigation screening process. This legislation also places
limited restrictions on the disclosure of survey information as public records and prohibits the
admission of such information in civil actions against nursing facilities.
FISCAL NOTE
Regarding the operation of pre-litigation review panels, the legislation is budget neutral
because it authorizes the Bureau of Occupational Licenses, Board of Nursing Home Examiners,
to collect from the association(s) representing skilled nursing facilities in Idaho, funds necessary
to fully reimburse the Board for all expenses relating to the pre-litigation panels.
Regarding the Idaho Medicaid program, since liability insurance and legal expenses
relating to litigation are reimbursable nursing facility costs under the Idaho Medicaid program
and since the care of approximately sixty-three percent of patients in Idaho is paid by Medicaid,
this legislation should result in a cost savings to the Idaho Medicaid program as it should
facilitate the out-of-court settlement of claims against skilled nursing facilities and is therefore
likely to result in lower liability insurance costs and legal costs for nursing facilities.
CONTACT: Scott Spears
Idaho Health Care Association
802 West Bannock, Suite 304
Boise, Idaho 83702
Phone: (208) 343-9735
Fax: (208) 342-6891
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1157