Medi-Cal patients would get help with in-home care under bill by state Sen. Bill Dodd

Nursing homes and assisted care facilities have been in crisis for weeks as the coronavirus has ripped through a particularly vulnerable population of elders and people with severe disabilities. But many of these Californians could soon get help returning home under a bill passed this week by the Legislature.

The measure, SB 214 by state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, would make it easier for low-income patients in hospital-like facilities to transition to in-home care.

The key change: Under current law, the Medi-Cal program can apply money for skilled nursing care to in-home providers, but only after a patient has spent at least 90 consecutive days at a care facility. SB 214 eliminates the 90-day waiting period, allowing a patient to exit a facility immediately if eligible.

“I think we have a policy of trying to get seniors and those infirmed in the least restrictive environment,” Dodd said Wednesday. “Especially with COVID, we know people are more endangered when they’re not in a home setting.”

The state Assembly and Senate passed the bill unanimously Sunday and Monday, sending it to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Dodd predicted it would be signed into law by the governor.

Since the coronavirus began wreaking havoc on American society in March, nursing homes and similar facilities have become unfortunate breeding grounds.

As of Tuesday, according to the state Department of Public Health, 24,061 confined residents had tested positive for the virus in California, along with 17,831 health care workers within the facilities. And because of the high-density living arrangements in nursing homes, as well as the prevalence of preexisting conditions, mortality rates have been especially high among residents there: 4,104 have died of COVID-19, according to the state.

In Sonoma County, residential centers have been at the center of the viral storm. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which tracks the coronavirus in individual facilities, currently shows a total of 252 confirmed cases, 519 suspected cases and 29 confirmed deaths among nursing home residents in Sonoma County. And that data is more than two weeks old.

Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma County’s health officer, has not read Dodd’s bill but sounded supportive of its goals.

“I think if people could get more support services in home, that would be better, because then they can isolate themselves better in their own residence, if they have a residence and with caregivers and things,” Mase said. “So I think it’s probably a positive thing.”

Dodd didn’t originate SB 214 as a response to the pandemic. In fact, he originally introduced the bill in February 2019 as a follow-up to an older measure, California Community Transitions, that began facilitating moves from nursing homes to in-home care in 2007.

Dodd’s original intent had more to do with improving patients’ comfort while saving money for the state. Taxpayers save $60,000 per year for each Medi-Cal patient moved from a nursing home or assisted living center to a home setting, according to Dodd’s office. That’s one reason Dodd is confident Newsom will sign the bill into law.

Though written in more normal times, SB 214 certainly gained relevance as the coronavirus exploded. It contains an urgency clause that will make the bill effective upon enactment.

California Community Transitions has helped 3,629 patients return home since the program’s inception, according to Dodd’s office. He was unable to estimate how many additional people might be served by his bill, but believes the number will be “significant.”

Older and impaired Californians will remain at risk for contracting the virus, of course, even at home. But the opportunity to rejoin the presence of loved ones, in the comfort of one’s own home, sounds like a more inviting environment than a sterile hospital bed. At least, that’s what Dodd hopes.

“I can only imagine how much worse it is being in a facility like that when you can’t visit anybody,” he said. “Quality of life ― it’s kind of solitary confinement in many respects.”

You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Skinny_Post.