Title 20, Public Health and Welfare

(a) The Department of Human Services shall prescribe through rule the procedure for transfer or discharge of residents to be followed by long-term care facilities. The procedure shall include:(1) Provisions for a written notice to be furnished to the resident, sponsor, and other …

(a) The Department of Human Services shall prescribe through rule the establishment of a residents' council within each long-term care facility. The residents' council's duties shall include without limitation:(1) Review of procedures of the facility for implementation of residen…

(a) No long-term care facility owner, administrator, employee, or other representative shall discriminate, retaliate, or seek reprisal in any manner against a resident or employee of a long-term care facility who has initiated or participated in any proceeding provided in this su…

All moneys received from the imposition of civil penalties levied by the state on long-term care facilities found to be out of compliance with the requirements of this subchapter shall be deposited into the Long-Term Care Trust Fund for uses as prescribed in § 20-10-209.

For a fourteen-day period beginning on the date of entry into a long-term care facility, the resident shall have the right to rescind any contractual obligation into which he or she has entered and receive a full refund of any moneys transferred to the facility. If the resident e…

(1) As used in this chapter:(1) “Administrative remedy” means temporary management, denial of payment for all new admissions, transfer of residents, termination or suspension of license, termination of provider agreement, directed plan of correction, directed in-service training,…

(a) For residents suffering from a terminal condition as defined in § 20-17-201, facilities may withhold nutrition or hydration, or both, only pursuant to:(1) The directive or with the consent of the resident;(2) A validly executed declaration as defined in § 20-17-201; or(3) The…

(a) No certificate of need or permit shall be required under any law in connection with facilities offering head injury retraining and rehabilitation. (b) Post-acute head injury residential facilities shall not be eligible to receive any state Medicare or Medicaid moneys.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (d) or subsection (e) of this section, a resident of a long-term care facility in this state shall not be photographed without obtaining prior written consent from the resident or, in cases of incapacity, from the guardian or legal representat…

(a) Any facility that meets the definition of a residential care facility as defined by the Department of Human Services that has not been licensed or certified by the appropriate state agency or has not received a permit of approval from the Health Services Permit Agency shall n…

(a) The maximum income eligibility for participation in state funding for nursing home alternatives shall be established at two hundred percent (200%) of the Supplemental Security Income level as provided by law. (b) This section shall in no way affect the Medicaid program or the…

(a) As used in this section, “long-term care facility” means “long-term care facility” as defined by § 20-10-213. (b) (1) Within twenty-four (24) hours after the incident requiring notification occurs, a long-term care facility shall notify, if known, the resident's guardian or o…

(a) Persons responsible for the direction of food services in long-term care facilities having more than fifty (50) beds, at a minimum, shall be:(1) Certified as a certified dietary manager or food service supervisor; or(2) Enrolled in a food service supervisor's course approved …

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Residents in Arkansas' long-term care facilities are particularly vulnerable to the theft or illegal diversion of personal funds designated as residents' share of cost under the Arkansas Medicaid Program;(2) The theft or illegal diversion o…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Agent” means a person who manages, uses, controls, or otherwise has legal access to a resident's income or resources that legally may be used to pay a resident's share of cost or other charges not paid by the Arkansas Medicaid Program;(2) “Long-te…

(a) Each residential care and assisted living facility shall provide each prospective resident or prospective resident's representative with a comprehensive consumer disclosure statement before the prospective resident signs an admission agreement. (b) The disclosure statement sh…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the results of a survey, inspection, or investigation of a long-term care facility conducted by any state or federal department or agency, including any statement of deficiencies, all findings and deficiencies cited in a statement…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Fair Reimbursement and Assisted Living Cost Reporting Act of 2023”. (b) The Department of Human Services shall annually report to:(1) The House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor;(2) The Senate Committee on Publ…

(1) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide for the development, establishment, and enforcement of basic standards for:(1) The health, care, and treatment of persons in long-term care facilities; and(2) The construction, maintenance, and operation of these facilities which w…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Administrator” means a person who administers, manages, supervises, or is in general administrative charge of a long-term care facility;(2) “Bed reservation policy” means the number of consecutive days and the number of days per year that a res…

(1) Every licensed facility shall comply with all applicable standards and rules of the Office of Long-Term Care and shall:(1) Be under the administrative direction and charge of a licensed administrator;(2) Have available the regular, consultative, and emergency services of phys…

(a) All long-term care facilities shall adopt and make public a statement of the rights and responsibilities of the residents of the facilities and shall treat the residents in accordance with the provisions of that statement. The statement shall assure each resident of the follo…

(a) (1) The admission of a resident to a long-term care facility and his or her presence in the facility shall not confer on the facility or its owner, administrator, employees, or representatives any authority to manage, use, or dispose of any property of the resident, nor shall…

(a) (1) The Department of Human Services and any duly designated officer or employee thereof or an ombudsman shall have the right to enter upon and into the premises of any long-term care facility at any time in order to determine the state of compliance with this subchapter and …

(a) Within ten (10) days after the date of an annual inspection visit or within thirty (30) days after the date of any interim visit, the Office of Long-Term Care shall forward the results of all inspections of long-term care facilities to:(1) The ombudsman in whose county the in…

(a) Any person who fraudulently alters, defaces, or falsifies any medical or other long-term care facility record or causes or procures any of these offenses to be committed commits a Class A misdemeanor. (b) A conviction under this section is also grounds for restriction, suspen…

(a) (1) Any resident who is injured by a deprivation or infringement of his or her rights as specified in this subchapter may bring a cause of action under § 16-114-201 et seq., against any licensee responsible for the deprivation or infringement.(2) The action may be brought by …

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Nursing Home Resident and Employee Immunization Act of 1999”.

(1) It is recognized that:(1) The sixth leading cause of death in Arkansas is the combined diagnostic category of pneumonia and influenza;(2) Approximately ninety percent (90%) of the pneumonia and influenza deaths are in those over sixty-five (65) years of age;(3) The Centers fo…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Document” means evidence from a person's physician or healthcare provider in written format indicating the date and place when the individual received the influenza virus vaccine and the pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine;(2) “Medically contraindic…

(a) (1) (A) The State Board of Health may promulgate rules to provide for the immunization against the influenza virus and pneumococcal disease as provided for in this subchapter.(B) The Department of Human Services shall be granted authority to enforce the rules.(2) The board ma…

(1) All residents of nursing home facilities and all full-time and part-time employees of nursing home facilities shall be immunized according to this subchapter with the following exemptions:(1) No individual shall be required to receive either an influenza virus vaccine or a pn…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Average Direct Care Hours Per Resident Day” means the total number of hours of direct care services provided by direct care staff in a month, divided by the number of calendar days in that month and the facility's average daily resident census …

(a) As a condition of licensure by the Department of Human Services, a nursing facility, except a private pay-only nursing facility, shall:(1) (A) Be certified to participate in the federal Medicare program as a skilled nursing facility or in the Arkansas Medicaid Program as a nu…

(a) (1) Cosmetology and barbering services provided to residents of nursing facilities and for which a fee is charged that is separate from and additional to monthly facility charges shall be provided only by a licensed cosmetologist or registered barber, respectively.(2) (A) Rou…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Alzheimer's Special Care Standards Act”.

(1) The General Assembly finds and declares that:(1) Certain long-term care facilities claim to provide special care units and services for persons who have Alzheimer's disease or related dementia;(2) It is in the public interest to provide for the protection of consumers regardi…

For the purposes of this subchapter, a long-term care facility has an Alzheimer's special care unit if the long-term care facility advertises or otherwise holds itself out as having one (1) or more special units for residents with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease or re…

(a) (1) Any facility having an Alzheimer's special care unit shall be required to disclose the form of care or treatment provided to or for persons with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease or related dementia.(2) (A) The disclosure shall be made to the Office of Long-Term…

The Department of Human Services shall establish and promulgate minimum standards for the care and treatment of persons with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia in Alzheimer's special care units.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Gross receipts” means gross receipts paid as compensation for services provided to residents of nursing facilities, including, but not limited to, client participation.(B) “Gross receipts” does not mean charitable contributions;(2) “Medicai…

(a) There is levied a quality assurance fee on nursing facilities to be calculated in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. (b) (1) The quality assurance fee shall be an amount determined each month by multiplying the patient days, as reported by each nursing facility f…

(a) On the tenth day of the first full month following March 9, 2001, and on the tenth day of each month thereafter, each nursing facility shall file a report with the Division of Medical Services listing the patient days for the preceding month. (b) The quality assurance fee sha…

(a) The administration of this subchapter shall be exercised by the Director of the Division of Medical Services and shall be subject to the provisions of the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq. (b) (1) In accordance with the Arkansas Administrative Procedu…

(a) The Department of Human Services shall apply for a waiver of the uniform healthcare-related tax under 42 C.F.R. § 433.68, as in effect on January 1, 2007, to exempt each nursing facility that provides nursing care exclusively under contract with life-care facilities licensed …

This subchapter shall be known as the “Arkansas Assisted Living Act”.