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News & Notes Archive

April 2020

Posted onAuthorKiara Lopez

In this Issue

Watch CANHR’s Press Conference Opposing the Nursing Home Industry’s Attempt to Seek Immunity from Elder Abuse  

CANHR held a press conference on April 20, 2020 via Zoom, and was joined by family members of nursing home residents, representatives from AARP, Consumer Attorneys of California and Senior and Disability Action. 

Advocates Oppose Nursing Home Industry’s Attempt to Seek Immunity From Elder Abuse 


On April 9, 2020, nursing home lobbyists and other health care provider organizations wrote to Governor Newsom pushing for near-complete immunity from administrative, criminal, and civil liability and events that lead up to and occur during the COVID-19 crisis.  If immunity is granted by the Governor, it would strip away the last layer of protection for nursing home residents at a time when their lives are in grave danger and deny them any chance of receiving justice for unconscionable conduct. Read more.

Read Advocates’ Joint Opposition Letter 

Urge Governor Newsom to Implement CANHR’s Emergency Action Plan 

CANHR is calling on the Governor and state officials to take emergency actions to help prevent further outbreaks and loss of life in long term care facilities. Please join CANHR in this call to action by contacting the Governor by email. 
 

California Identifies 261 Nursing Homes with Residents and Staff Who Have COVID-19 

Californians finally got a partial glimpse of COVID-19’s epidemic impact within the state’s nursing homes on April 17th when state officials released an incomplete list of nursing homes that have residents or staff who are infected with the virus. Released on a Friday evening, the list identifies 261 nursing homes that have reported COVID-19 infections involving either a resident or a staff member. In total, those facilities reported that 1,740 residents and 1,290 workers have tested positive for COVID-19. Read more. 

Eviction Relief for Residents of California Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

In a meeting on April 6, 2020, the Judicial Council of California adopted an emergency rule effectively stopping all evictions, other than those necessary to protect public health and safety, for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency. 

The emergency rule prohibits a California court from issuing a summons in an eviction case— also called an “unlawful detainer” proceeding— unless the eviction is necessary to protect public health and safety. A tenant will not need to respond to a new eviction case until the rule is lifted.  Because non-emergency evictions from nursing homes and residential care facilities for the elderly are not enforceable absent a court order issued in an unlawful detainer action, the new rule should protect residents in these facilities. Read more. 



Consumer Medi-Cal Updates for COVID-19

The Department of Health Care Service (DHCS) has instituted extensive changes to the Medi-Cal program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For a complete list of these changes, please visit the DHCS website: https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/Pages/DHCS-COVID%E2%80%9119-Response.aspx

Below are some highlights:  

  • Discontinuances: Medi-Cal cannot currently discontinue benefits or take negative actions. Beginning March 16, 2020, Medi-Cal discontinuances and negative actions were delayed for a minimum of 90 days. See MEDIL 20-07.
     
  • Stimulus Checks Exempt: Under the CARES Act, most individuals will receive stimulus checks of up to $1,200 for adults and $500 for children. For Medi-Cal purposes, these funds will be not be counted as income, and will be excluded as property for a period of 12 months. See ACWDL 20-09.

Visit CANHR’s COVID-19 News and Resources Website 

In an effort to keep individuals and organizations better informed on how long term care concerns have been impacted by the Coronavirus, we have created a website, https://canhrcovidnews.com, specifically for COVID-19 information, news and resources related to long term care. For the duration of the crisis, we will be posting frequent updates there.  
 

Visit CANHR’s COVID-19 Facility Outbreaks Map

CANHR has built an interactive map of facilities with reported COVID-19 outbreaks, based on data compiled from the state and individual counties, as well as media and reports to CANHR.

Please note that the state and individual counties are releasing incomplete information, and the absence of a specific county or facility from this map is not a guarantee of it being free of COVID-19 infection.