Connecticut 2025 Regular Session Status: In Committee

SB 1451 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WORKING GROUP TO STUDY STAFF SAFETY ISSUES AFFECTING HOME HEALTH CARE AND HOME HEALTH AIDE AGENCIES.

Last action — FILE NO. 297

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2025 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

225 added · 112 removed

225 line(s) added, 112 removed.

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General Assembly Raised Bill No.
Senate General Assembly File No.
1451 January Session, 2025 LCO No.
297 January Session, 2025 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5801 Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH Introduced by:
1451 Senate, March 27, 2025 The Committee on Public Health reported through SEN.
(PH) AN ACT CONCERNING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WORKING GROUP TO STUDY STAFF SAFETY ISSUES AFFECTING HOME HEALTH CARE AND HOME HEALTH AIDE AGENCIES.
ANWAR of the 3rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WORKING GROUP TO STUDY STAFF SAFETY ISSUES AFFECTING HOME HEALTH CARE AND HOME HEALTH AIDE AGENCIES.
(a) Each home health care agency,[and] home health aide agency and hospice agency, assuchtermsaredefinedinsection19a-490,[exceptany such agency that is licensed as a hospice organization by the Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-122b,] shall, during intake of a prospective client who will be receiving services from the agency, collect and provide to any employee assigned to provide services to such client, to the extent feasible and consistent with state and federal laws, information regarding:
(a) Each home health care agency and home health aide agency, as such terms are defined in section 19a-490, except any such agency that is licensed as a hospice organization by the Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-122b, shall, during intake of a prospective client who will be receiving services from the agency, collect and provide to any employee assigned to provide services to such client, to the extent feasible and consistent with state and federal laws, information regarding:
(E) whether the client's diagnoses or symptoms thereof have remained stable over time;
(E) sSB1451 / File No.
and (F) any LCO No.
297 1 sSB1451 File No.
5801 1 of 4 Raised Bill No.1451 information concerning violent acts involving the client that is contained in judicial records or any sex offender registry information concerning the client;
297 whether the client's diagnoses or symptoms thereof have remained stable over time;
and (2) the location where the employee will provide services, including, if known to the agency, the (A) crime rate for the municipality in which the employee will provide services, as determined by the most recent annual report concerning crime in the state issued by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection pursuant to section 29-1c, (B) presence of any hazardous materialsat thelocation,including,but not limitedto,usedsyringes,(C) presence of firearms or other weapons at the location, (D) status of the location'sfirealarmsystem,and(E)presenceofanyothersafetyhazards at the locations.
and (F) any information concerning violent acts involving the client that is contained in judicial records or any sex offender registry information concerning the client;
and (2) the location where the employee will provide services, including, if known to the agency, the (A) crime rate for the municipality in which the employee will provide services, as determined by the most recent annual report concerning crime in the state issued by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection pursuant to section 29-1c, (B) presence of any hazardous materials at the location, including, but not limited to, used syringes, (C) presence of firearms or other weapons at the location, (D) status of the location's fire alarm system, and (E) presence of any other safety hazards at the locations.
Section 19a-491g of the general statutes is repealed and the LCO No.
Section 19a-491g of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2025):
5801 2 of 4 Raised Bill No.1451 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2025):
sSB1451 / File No.
(a) Each home health care agency,[and] home health aide agency and hospice agency, assuchtermsaredefinedinsection19a-490,[exceptany such agency that is licensed as a hospice organization by the Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-122b,] shall (1) (A) adopt and implement a health and safety training curriculum for home care workers that is consistent with the health and safety training curriculum for such workers that is endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, including, but not limited to, training to recognize hazards commonly encountered in home care workplaces and applying practical solutions to manage risks and improve safety, and (B) provide annual staff training consistent with such health and safety curriculum;
297 2 sSB1451 File No.
297 (a) Each home health care agency,[and] home health aide agency and hospice agency, assuchtermsaredefinedinsection19a-490,[exceptany such agency that is licensed as a hospice organization by the Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-122b,] shall (1) (A) adopt and implement a health and safety training curriculum for home care workers that is consistent with the health and safety training curriculum for such workers that is endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, including, but not limited to, training to recognize hazards commonly encountered in home care workplaces and applying practical solutions to manage risks and improve safety, and (B) provide annual staff training consistent with such health and safety curriculum;
(c) The commissioner may, within available appropriations, provide a rate enhancement under the Connecticut medical assistance program for any home health care agency, [or] home health aide agency [, except any such agency that is licensed as a hospice organization by the LCO No.
(c) The commissioner may, within available appropriations, provide a rate enhancement under the Connecticut medical assistance program for any home health care agency, [or] home health aide agency [, except any such agency that is licensed as a hospice organization by the Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-122b,] or hospice agency for timely reporting of any workplace violence incident.
5801 3 of 4 Raised Bill No.
For purposes of this section, "timely reporting" means reporting such sSB1451 / File No.
1451 Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-122b,] or hospice agency for timely reporting of any workplace violence incident.
297 3 sSB1451 File No.
For purposes of this section, "timely reporting" means reporting such incident not later than seven calendar days after its occurrence to the Department of Social Services and the Department of Public Health.
297 incident not later than seven calendar days after its occurrence to the Department of Social Services and the Department of Public Health.
3 October 1, 2025 19a-491h(a) Statement of Purpose:
3 October 1, 2025 19a-491h(a) PH Joint Favorable Subst.
To implement the recommendations of the working group to study staff safety issues affecting home health care and home health aide agencies.
sSB1451 / File No.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets.
297 4 sSB1451 File No.
Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except underlined.]e entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not LCO No.
297 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
5801 4 of 4
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 26 $ FY 27 $ Social Services, Dept.
GF - Potential See Below See Below Cost Social Services, Dept.
GF - Potential See Below See Below Savings Note:
GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill may result in savings to the Department of Social Services (DSS) to the extent that hospice organizations do not submit evidence of adoption and implementation of health and safety training curriculum required by the bill.
Such evidence is a condition of receiving payment for services provided under Medicaid and HUSKY B.
The bill may also result in increased costs to DSS to the extent the agency provides enhanced rates to hospice organizations for timely reporting of any workplace violence incidents.
The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.
sSB1451 / File No.
297 5 sSB1451 File No.
297 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 1451 AN ACT CONCERNING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WORKING GROUP TO STUDY STAFF SAFETY ISSUES AFFECTING HOME HEALTH CARE AND HOME HEALTH AIDE AGENCIES.
SUMMARY This bill makes various changes to laws on staff safety for home health care and home health aide agencies (“home health agencies”), and extends some of these provisions to hospice agencies (i.e.
organizations that provide home care and hospice services to terminally ill patients).
It requires health care providers, when referring or transferring a patient to a home health agency, to give the agency any documentation or information the provider has on the topics that the agency must collect during client intake (generally client and service location information;
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see BACKGROUND).
It similarly requires providers to give this information to hospice agencies.
(The law, unchanged by the bill,doesnotrequire hospice agenciesto collect thisinformationat client intake.) These provisions apply to the extent it is feasible and consistent with other state or federal laws.
The bill extends to hospice agencies requirements to do monthly safety assessments with direct care staff and comply with certainrelated training requirements (or risk losing Medicaid reimbursement if they fail to provide the training).
Currently, these laws apply only to home health agencies.
Current law authorizes the Department of Social Services (DSS) commissioner to increase Medicaid rates for home health agencies that report workplace violence incidents to DSS and the Department of Public Health (DPH) within seven calendar days after they happen.
The sSB1451 / File No.
297 6 sSB1451 File No.
297 bill(1)specifiesthatDSSmaydosoonlywithinavailableappropriations and (2) extends this provision to hospice agencies.
Existing law also requires home health agencies to annually report to DPH on (1) each instance of a client’s verbal abuse that a staff member perceived as a threat or danger, physical or sexual abuse, or any other client abuse of a staff member and (2) the actions they took to ensure the affected staff member’s safety.
The bill requires these agencies to report threats or abuse against staff members by anyone, not just clients, if related to the staff member’s employment.
It also extends this reporting requirement to hospice agencies.
As under existing law, DPH must annually report on the collected information to the Public Health Committee.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
October 1, 2025 HOSPICE WORKER SAFETY TRAINING The bill extends to hospice agencies safety assessment and training requirements that currently only apply to home health agencies.
Specifically, it requires hospice agencies to do monthly safety assessments with direct care staff at the agency’s monthly staff meeting.
It also requiresthemto adopt andimplement a homecare worker health and safety training curriculum consistent with the one endorsed by the federal (1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National InstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealthand(2)OccupationalSafety andHealth Administration,including training to recognize andmanage common home care workplace hazards and practical ways to manage risks and improve safety.
Hospice agencies must provide annual staff training that aligns with this curriculum.
Under the bill, the DSS commissioner must generally require these agencies to provide evidence that they adopted and implemented the above training curriculum to continue receiving Medicaid reimbursements.
The commissioner, at her discretion, may approve alternative applicable training programs.
sSB1451 / File No.
297 7 sSB1451 File No.
297 BACKGROUND Home Health Agency Client Intake Data Collection The law generally requires home health agencies to collect certain information during intake with a prospective client and give it to any employee assigned to the client, to the extent it is feasible and consistent with other laws.
Specifically, this includes informationon the following:
1.
the client, including, if applicable, the client’s history of violence against health care workers, domestic abuse, or substance use;
a list of the client’s diagnoses, including psychiatric history;
whether the client’s diagnoses or symptoms have been stable over time;
and any information on violent acts involving the client from judicial records or any sex offender registry data concerning the client;
and 2.
the service location, including, if known to the agency, the municipality’s crime rate, as determined by the most recent state crime annual report issued by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection;
the presence of hazardous materials (including used syringes), firearms or other weapons, or other safety hazards;
and the status of the location’s fire alarm system.
COMMITTEE ACTION Public Health Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 32 Nay 0 (03/12/2025) sSB1451 / File No.
297 8
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Action History

  1. FILE NO. 297

  2. SENATE CALENDAR NUMBER 197

  3. FAV. RPT., TAB. FOR CAL., SEN.

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  5. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/26/25

  6. FILED WITH LCO

  7. Joint Favorable Substitute

  8. PUBLIC HEARING 0310

  9. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Public Health

Sponsorship breakdown

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0 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 187 not signed on

Sponsors (0)

None.

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (187)

187 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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This bill died with 2025 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
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