For Californians seeking care in California, it was discovered whether anyone who was banned from participating in other types of care facilities to operate an auxiliary residence for the California Department of Social Services.
According to Social Services, the names of the prohibited individuals have not been published anywhere that is available for public use. A national bill would require a list of banned individuals to be published significantly on the state website of Sacramento nearly a decade ago.
“We can’t convince anyone that it’s important,” said Christine Murphy, a consumer advocate for RCFE reform, an advocacy group focused on assisted living facilities.
She said that in the objection of state officials, it is possible that others would have the same name as the banned individual, “this can cause serious damage because people are misidentified.”
Social Services licensing officials also said there was no need to make a list of prohibited individuals public because the department would check someone before giving them permission, Murphy recalls.
State regulators told The Times they share information about people who prohibit assisted living with relevant institutions. Social Services says it sends spreadsheets to the California Department of Public Health monthly and updates the system of records accessible to other agencies, including health care services.
But this does not mean that other agencies must take action on the information.
Public Health said it could be considered whether someone was banned when deciding whether to grant a permit or allow a facility to change its manager. However, if existing facilities simply renew their permits, public health usually does not check whether people there have been banned by social services.
“We are reviewing our processes to improve oversight” and ensuring that the information submitted by the applicant is valid,” Public Health said in a written response to the New York Times issue. “To do this, we are looking at the facilities you provide to study the issues you describe and have the potential to take action.”
Public Health notes that it maintains an online database where people can enter names and get a list of healthcare facilities related to people with the same name.
However, it cannot confirm whether “John Smith” who runs a medical facility is associated with “John Smith” who is prohibited from using auxiliary residences.
Eric Carlson, aging nonprofit justice, said it should not be up to consumers to conduct detective work. He said they “depending on the level of scrutiny by the licensing agency.”
