2022 -- H 7076

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LC003286

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- NATIONAL CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECK

SYSTEM--CRIMINAL RECORDS REVIEW

     Introduced By: Representatives Bennett, Edwards, Shanley, Amore, Craven, Noret, Hull,
J Lombardi, Solomon, and Kazarian

     Date Introduced: January 12, 2022

     Referred To: House Health & Human Services

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 12-1.6-1 and 12-1.6-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-1.6 entitled

"National Criminal Records Check System" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     12-1.6-1. Automated fingerprint identification system database.

     The department of the attorney general may establish and maintain an automated

fingerprint identification system database that would allow the department to store and maintain all

fingerprints submitted in accordance with the national criminal records check system. The

automated fingerprint identification system database would provide for an automatic notification

if, and when, a subsequent criminal arrest fingerprint card is submitted to the system that matches

a set of fingerprints previously submitted in accordance with a national criminal records check. If

the aforementioned arrest results in a conviction, the department shall immediately notify those

individuals and entities with which that individual is associated and who are required to be notified

of disqualifying information concerning national criminal records checks as provided in chapters

17, 17.4, 17.7.1 of title 23 or § 23-1-52, and chapter 7.2 of title 42 or §§ 42-7.2-18.2 and 42-7.2-

18.4. The information in the database established under this section is confidential and not subject

to disclosure under chapter 38-2.

     12-1.6-2. Long-term healthcare workers Long-term healthcare workers, high-risk

Medicaid providers, and personal care attendants.

     The department of the attorney general shall maintain an electronic, web-based system to

assist facilities, licensed under chapters 17, 17.4, 17.7.1 of title 23 or § 23-1-52 and the executive

office of health and human services (EOHHS) under §§ 42-7.2-18.1 and 42-7.2-18.3, required to

check relevant registries and conduct national criminal records checks of routine contact patient

employees, personal care attendants and high-risk providers. The department of the attorney

general shall provide for an automated notice, as authorized in § 12-1.6-1, to those facilities or to

EOHHS if a routine-contact patient employee, personal care attendant or high-risk provider is

subsequently convicted of a disqualifying offense, as described in the relevant licensing statute or

in §§ 42-7.2-18.2 and 42-7.2-18.4. The department of the attorney general may charge a facility a

one-time, set-up fee of up to one hundred dollars ($100) for access to the electronic web-based

system under this section.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 42-7.2 of the General Laws entitled "Office of Health and Human

Services" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     42-7.2-18.1. Professional responsibility -- Criminal records check for high-risk

providers.

     (a) As a condition of enrollment and/or continued participation as a Medicaid provider,

applicants to become and/or remain a provider shall be required to undergo a criminal records

check, including a national criminal records check supported by fingerprints by the level of

screening, based on risk of fraud, waste or abuse as determined by the executive office of health

and human services (EOHHS) for that category of Medicaid provider.

     (b) Establishment of risk categories. EOHHS, in consultation with the department of the

attorney general, shall establish through regulation, risk categories for Medicaid providers and

provider categories who pose an increased financial risk of fraud, waste or abuse to the

Medicaid/CHIP program, in accordance with § 42 C.F.R. §§ 455.434 and 455.450.

     (c) High risk categories, as determined by EOHHS, may include:

     (1) Newly enrolled home health agencies that have not been Medicare certified;

     (2) Newly enrolled durable medical equipment providers;

     (3) New or revalidating providers that have been categorized by EOHHS as high risk;

     (4) New or revalidating providers with payment suspension histories;

     (5) New or revalidating providers with office of inspector general exclusion histories;

     (6) New or revalidating providers with qualified overpayment histories; or

     (7) New or revalidating providers applying for enrollment post debarment or moratorium

(federal or state-based).

     (d) Upon the state Medicaid agency determination that a provider or an applicant to become

a provider, or a person with a five percent (5%) or more direct or indirect ownership interest in the

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provider, meets EOHH's criteria for criminal records checks as a high risk to the Medicaid program,

EOHHS shall require that each such provider or applicant to become a provider, undergo a national

criminal records check supported by fingerprints.

     (e) EOHHS shall require such a high risk Medicaid provider or applicant to become a

provider, or any person with a five percent (5%) or more direct or indirect ownership interest in the

provider, to submit to a national criminal records check supported by fingerprints within thirty (30)

days upon request from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid or EOHHS.

     (f) The Medicaid providers requiring the national criminal records check shall apply to the

department of the attorney general, bureau of criminal identification (BCI) to be fingerprinted. The

fingerprints shall be transmitted to the federal bureau of investigation (FBI) for a national criminal

records check. The results of the national criminal records check shall be made available to the

applicant undergoing a record check and submitting fingerprints.

     (g) Upon the discovery of any disqualifying information, as defined in § 42-7.2-18.2 and

as in accordance with the regulations promulgated by EOHHS, the BCI unit of the department of

the attorney general will inform the applicant, in writing, of the nature of the disqualifying

information, and, without disclosing the nature of the disqualifying information, will notify the

EOHHS, in writing, that disqualifying information has been discovered.

     (h) In those situations in which no disqualifying information has been found, the BCI unit

of the department of attorney general shall inform the applicant and EOHHS, in writing, of this

fact.

     (i) The applicant shall be responsible for the cost of conducting the national criminal

records check through the BCI unit of the department of the attorney general.

     42-7.2-18.2. Professional responsibility -- Criminal records check disqualifying

information for high-risk providers.

     (a) Information produced by a national criminal records check pertaining to conviction for

the following crimes will result in notification to EOHHS, disqualifying the applicant from being

a Medicaid provider: murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, first degree

sexual assault, second degree sexual assault, third degree sexual assault, assault on persons sixty

(60) years of age or older, assault with intent to commit specified felonies (murder, robbery, rape,

burglary, or the abominable and detestable crime against nature), felony assault, patient abuse,

neglect or mistreatment of patients, burglary, first degree arson, robbery, felony drug offenses,

felony larceny, felony banking law violations, felony obtaining money under false pretenses, felony

embezzlement, abuse, neglect and/or exploitation of adults with severe impairments, exploitation

of elders, or a crime under section 1128a of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(a)). An

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applicant against whom disqualifying information has been found, for purposes of appeal, may

provide a copy of the national criminal records check to EOHHS, who shall make a judgment

regarding the approval of or the continued status of that person as a provider.

     (b) For purposes of this section, “conviction” means, in addition to judgments of conviction

entered by a court subsequent to a finding of guilty or a plea of guilty, those instances where the

defendant has entered a plea of nolo contendere and has received a sentence of probation and those

instances where a defendant has entered into a deferred sentence agreement with the department of

the attorney general.

     42-7.2-18.3. Professional responsibility -- Criminal records check for personal care

aides.

     (a) Any person seeking employment to provide care to the elderly or individuals with

disabilities who is, or may be required to be, licensed, registered, trained or certified with the office

of Medicaid if that employment involves routine contact with the elderly or individuals with

disabilities without the presence of other employees, shall undergo a national criminal records

check supported by fingerprints. The applicant will report to the department of the attorney general,

BCI unit to submit their fingerprints. The fingerprints shall be submitted to the FBI by the BCI unit

of the department of the attorney general. The national criminal records check shall be initiated

prior to, or within one week of, employment.

     (b) The director of the office of Medicaid may, by rule, identify those positions requiring

criminal records checks. The identified employee, through EOHHS, shall apply to the BCI unit of

the department of the attorney general for a national criminal records check. Upon the discovery of

any disqualifying information, as defined in § 42-7.2-18.4 and in accordance with the rule

promulgated by the director of Medicaid, the BCI unit of the department of the attorney general

will inform the applicant, in writing, of the nature of the disqualifying information, and, without

disclosing the nature of the disqualifying information, will notify EOHHS in writing, that

disqualifying information has been discovered.

     (c) An applicant against whom disqualifying information has been found, for purposes of

appeal, may provide a copy of the national criminal history check to EOHHS who shall make a

judgment regarding the approval of the applicant.

     (d) In those situations in which no disqualifying information has been found, the BCI unit

of the department of the attorney general shall inform the applicant and EOHHS, in writing, of this

fact.

     (e) EOHHS shall maintain on file evidence that criminal records checks have been initiated

on all applicants subsequent to July 1, 2022.

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     (f) The applicant shall be responsible for the cost of conducting the national criminal

records check through the BCI unit of the department of the attorney general.

     42-7.2-18.4. Professional responsibility -- Criminal records check disqualifying

information for personal care aides.

     (a) Information produced by a national criminal records check pertaining to conviction for

the following crimes will result in a letter to the applicant and the executive office of health and

human services (EOHHS), disqualifying the applicant: murder, voluntary manslaughter,

involuntary manslaughter, first degree sexual assault, second degree sexual assault, third degree

sexual assault, assault on persons sixty (60) years of age or older, assault with intent to commit

specified felonies (murder, robbery, rape, burglary, or the abominable and detestable crime against

nature), felony assault, patient abuse, neglect or mistreatment of patients, burglary, first degree

arson, robbery, felony drug offenses, felony larceny, or felony banking law violations, felony

obtaining money under false pretenses, felony embezzlement, abuse, neglect and/or exploitation of

adults with severe impairments, exploitation of elders, or a crime under section 1128a of the Social

Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(a)).

     (b) For purposes of this section, “conviction” means, in addition to judgments of conviction

entered by a court subsequent to a finding of guilty or a plea of guilty, those instances where the

defendant has entered a plea of nolo contendere and has received a sentence of probation and those

instances where a defendant has entered into a deferred sentence agreement with the attorney

general.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- NATIONAL CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECK

SYSTEM--CRIMINAL RECORDS REVIEW

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     This act would require patient contact employees, personal care attendants and high-risk

providers to undergo a national criminal records check and would disqualify those individuals from

such employment if they have a criminal record for crimes of violence or other offenses listed.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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