3612 - Powers and duties of commissioner and state hospital review and planning council.

§  3612.  Powers  and duties of commissioner and state hospital review  and planning council. 1.  The  commissioner  shall  have  the  power  to  conduct  periodic  inspections  of  facilities  of certified home health  agencies, providers of long  term  home  health  care  programs  and  of  providers  of  AIDS  home  care programs with respect to the fitness and  adequacy of equipment, personnel, rules and bylaws, standards of service  and medical care, system of  accounts,  records,  and  the  adequacy  of  financial resources and sources of future revenues.    2.   The  commissioner  shall  have  the  power  to  conduct  periodic  inspections of licensed home care services agencies with respect to  the  standards  of  service  and  care,  qualifications  of personnel and the  clinical records maintained by such agency.    3. Any organization which provides or makes available  any  home  care  services to the public in this state, in any organized program developed  or  rendered under its auspices or provided under contract with any such  organization, shall submit  annually  to  the  commissioner  a  complete  description  of  its  operation,  including  name,  address, location or  principal place of business, ownership, identification of administrative  personnel responsible for home care services programs,  the  nature  and  extent  of such programs, and such other information as the commissioner  shall require. For certified home health agencies and licensed home care  services agencies such annual report shall include reports on the  type,  frequency   and   reimbursement   for   services   provided,   including  reimbursement  from  federal  and  state  governmental   agencies.   The  commissioner  shall  determine  the  form and content of the information  compiled and the annual date for submission  of  such  information.  The  commissioner shall require certified home health agencies to provide all  information   necessary   to   a  licensed  home  care  services  agency  sub-contracting with such certified home health agency,  to  allow  such  licensed  home  care  services  agency  to  file  its annual report. The  commissioner shall make such information available  to  the  appropriate  governmental  agencies  of  the  state, the counties and the city of New  York so as to make known the  availability  of  home  care  services  to  provide  data  for planning for health needs of the people of the state.  This information shall be available to the  public  and  to  the  health  systems agencies.    4.  The  commissioner shall establish within the department a unit for  home care services to assist him in carrying out the provisions of  this  article.    5.  The  public health and health planning council, by a majority vote  of its members, shall adopt and amend rules and regulations, subject  to  the  approval  of  the  commissioner,  to  effectuate the provisions and  purposes of this article with respect to certified home health agencies,  providers of long term home health care programs and providers  of  AIDS  home care programs, including, but not limited to, (a) the establishment  of  requirements  for  a  uniform statewide system of reports and audits  relating to the quality of services provided and their  utilization  and  costs;  (b)  establishment  by  the  department  of  schedules of rates,  payments, reimbursements, grants and other charges;  (c)  standards  and  procedures  relating  to  certificates  of approval and authorization to  provide long term home health care programs and AIDS home care programs;  (d) uniform standards for quality of care and services to be provided by  certified home health agencies, providers of long term home health  care  programs  and providers of AIDS home care programs; (e) requirements for  minimum levels of staffing, taking into consideration the  size  of  the  agency,  provider of a long term home health care program or provider of  an AIDS home care program, the type of care and  service  provided,  and  the  special  needs  of the persons served; (f) standards and proceduresrelating  to  contractual  arrangements  between  home   care   services  agencies;  (g)  requirements  for  the  establishment  of  plans for the  coordination of home care services and  discharge  planning  for  former  patients or residents of facilities under the regulatory jurisdiction of  the  department,  the  departments of social services or mental hygiene,  the  board  of  social  welfare,  or  the  office  for  the  aging;  (h)  requirements  for  uniform  review  of  the  appropriate  utilization of  services; and (i) requirements for minimum qualifications and  standards  of  training  for personnel as appropriate. The commissioner may propose  rules and regulations and amendments thereto for  consideration  by  the  council.    6.  The  commissioner  shall  adopt rules and regulations for licensed  home care services agencies which establishes a  cap  on  administrative  and  general  costs for such agencies equal to the cap on administrative  and  general  costs  applied  to  certified  home  health  agencies   in  accordance with subdivision seven of section thirty-six hundred fourteen  of this article.    7. The commissioner shall adopt and may amend rules and regulations to  effectuate  the  provisions  and purposes of this article as to licensed  home care services agencies with regard to  (a)  uniform  standards  for  quality of care and services to be provided and (b) the establishment of  a  uniform  statewide  system  of  reports  relating  to  the quality of  services offered.