Resident Admission Agreements in New Jersey
Your facility's Resident Admission Agreement ("Agreement") may need to be reviewed to ensure compliance with current laws, such as:
- New Jersey State laws enacted in January 2002 forbidding agreements to include "waiver clauses" requiring a resident to waive his/her right to sue.
- Federal privacy laws ("HIPAA")1 effective April 14, 2003 addressing the use and disclosure of residents' medical records information, including the use and disclosure of individually identifiable protected health information related to psychotherapy, marketing or fundraising activities, facility directories and/or notification of family and friends concerning resident issues.
- New Jersey State laws effective February 2002 adopted by the Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly which include the use of the Disclosure Consent Form and specific procedures for Withholding/Withdrawing Life Support, DNR Orders and DNH Orders.
- Legal challenges involving the Federal regulatory provisions prohibiting third party payment guarantees resulting from the definition of "responsible party" used in Agreements.