Attorney General William Tong urged support for legislation empowering the Office of the Attorney General to recover state funds from seriously deficient long-term care facilities causing harm to patients. While the Department of Public Health has enforcement authority over violations of state and federal law concerning care of residents in long-term care facilities, the state currently lacks authority to recover state funding, including Medicaid dollars, these facilities may receive while providing deficient care that harms or threatens to harm residents. An Act Concerning the Office of the Attorney General’s Proposed Remedies for Deficient Long-Term Care would empower the Office of the Attorney General to conduct investigations and bring civil actions in cases of harm or potential harm to patients, where the Department of Public Health has issued orders or determinations that state or federal laws or regulations have been violated. The legislation would empower the Office of the Attorney General to recover up to three times the damages sustained by the state, in addition to civil penalties from $5,500 to $11,000 for each instance of a violation. The legislation would further empower the Office of the Attorney General to obtain injunctive and declaratory relief to prevent future violations and harm to patients.
