Hospice: services to seriously ill patients.

(1) The California Hospice Licensure Act of 1990 provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Public Health of persons or agencies that provide hospice, which is a type of interdisciplinary health care that includes palliative care to individuals experiencing the last phases of life due to the existence of a terminal disease and supportive care to the primary caregivers and family of the hospice patient. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor. The bill would authorize, until January 1, 2022, a licensee under the act to provide any of the authorized interdisciplinary hospice services, including palliative care, to a patient who has a serious illness. The bill would require a licensee that elects to provide palliative care pursuant to this temporary authorization to report additional specified information to the department, including the number of patients receiving palliative care. By modifying the scope of a crime for a violation of the act, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department, on or before June 1, 2021, to convene a stakeholder meeting to discuss the results of the information collected pursuant to these provisions. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.