Patient Rights

Participant’s Bill of Rights

The Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, also called PACE, is a special program that combines medical and long-term care services in a community setting.

When you join a PACE program, you have certain rights and protections. FHCN PACE, as your PACE program, must fully explain and provide your rights to you or someone acting on your behalf in a way you can understand at the time you join.

To be eligible, you must

Be age 55 or older.
Live in the service area of the PACE program.
Be certified as eligible for nursing home care by the State Administering Agency.
Be able to live safely in the community at the time of enrollment with PACE services

The goals of PACE are:

To maximize the independence, dignity, and respect of PACE members.
To help make PACE members more independent and improve their quality of life.
To provide coordinated quality health care to PACE members.
To keep PACE members living safely in their homes and communities as long as possible.
To help support and keep PACE members together with their families.

At FHCN PACE, we are dedicated to providing you with quality healthcare services so that you may remain as independent as possible. Our staff seeks to affirm the dignity and worth of each participant by assuring the following rights:

You have the right to be treated with respect.

You have the right to be treated with dignity and respect at all times, to have all of your care kept private and confidential, and to get compassionate, considerate care. You have the right:

To get all of your health care in a safe, clean environment and an accessible manner.
To be free from harm. This includes excessive medication, physical or mental abuse, neglect, physical punishment, being placed by yourself against your will, and any physical or chemical restraint that is used on you for discipline or the convenience of staff and that you do not need to treat your medical symptoms or to prevent injury.
To be encouraged to use your rights in the PACE program.
To get help, if you need it, to use the Medicare and Medicaid complaint and appeal processes, and your civil and other legal rights.
To be encouraged and helped in talking to PACE staff about changes in policy and services you think should be made.
To use a telephone while at the PACE Center.
To not have to do work or services for the FHCN PACE program.

You have a right to protection against discrimination.

Discrimination is against the law. Every company or agency that works with Medicare and Medicaid must obey the law. They cannot discriminate against you because of your:

Race
Ethnicity
National Origin
Religion
Age
Sex
Mental or physical disability
Sexual Orientation
Source of payment for your health care (For example, Medicare or Medicaid)

If you think you have been discriminated against for any of these reasons, contact a staff member at the FHCN PACE program to help you resolve your problem.

If you have any questions, you can call the Office for Civil Rights at 1-800-368-1019. TTY users should call 1-800-537-7697.

You have a right to information and assistance.

You have the right to get accurate, easy-to-understand information and to have someone help you make informed healthcare decisions. You have the right:

To have someone help you if you have a language or communication barrier so you can understand all information given to you.
To have the FHCN PACE program interpret the information into your preferred language in a culturally competent manner, if your first language is not English and you can’t speak English well enough to understand the information being given to you.
To get marketing materials and PACE participant rights in English and any other frequently used language in your community. You can also get these materials in Braille, if necessary.
To have the enrollment agreement fully explained to you in a manner understood by you. To get a written copy of your rights from the FHCN PACE program. The FHCN PACE program must also post these rights in a public place in the PACE center where it is easy to see them.
To be fully informed, in writing, of the services offered by the FHCN PACE program. This includes telling you which services are provided by contractors instead of the PACE staff. You must be given this information before you join, at the time you join, and when you need to choose what services to receive.
To look at, or get help to look at, the results of the most recent review of the FHCN PACE program. Federal and State agencies review all PACE programs. You also have a right to review how the FHCN PACE program plans to correct any problems that are found at the inspection.

You have a right to a choice of providers.

You have the right to choose a healthcare provider within the FHCN PACE program’s network and to get quality healthcare. Women have the right to get services from a qualified women’s health care specialist for routine or preventive women’s health care services.

You have a right to access emergency services.

You have the right to get emergency services when and where you need them without the FHCN PACE program’s approval. A medical emergency is when you think your health is in danger—when every second counts. You may have a bad injury, sudden illness or an illness quickly getting much worse. You can get emergency care anywhere in the United States.

You have a right to participate in treatment decisions.

You have the right to fully participate in all decisions related to your health care. If you cannot fully participate in your treatment decisions or you want to have someone you trust help you, you have the right to choose that person to act on your behalf. You have the right:

To have all treatment options explained to you in a language you understand, to be fully informed of your health status and how well you are doing, and to make health care decisions. This includes the right not to get treatment or take medications. If you choose not to get treatment, you must be told how this will affect your health.
Having the FHCN PACE program helps you create an advance directive if you choose. An advance directive is a written document that says how you want medical decisions to be made in case you cannot speak for yourself. You should give it to the person who will carry out your instructions and make health care decisions for you.

To participate in making and carrying out your plan of care. You can ask for your plan of care to be reviewed at any time.

To be given advance notice, in writing, of any plan to move you to another treatment setting and the reason you are being moved.

You have a right to have your health information kept private.

You have the right to talk with health care providers in private and to have your personal health care information kept private and confidential, including health data that is collected and kept electronically, as protected under State and Federal laws.
You have the right to look at and receive copies of your medical records and request amendments.
You have the right to be assured that your written consent will be obtained for the release of information to persons not otherwise authorized under law to receive it.
You have the right to provide written consent that limits the degree of information and the persons to whom information may be given.

There is a patient privacy rule that gives you more access to your medical records and more control over how your personal health information is used. If you have any questions about this privacy rule, call the Office for Civil Rights at 1-800-368-1019. TTY users should call 1-800-537-7697.

You have a right to file a complaint.

You have a right to complain about the services you receive or that you need and don’t receive the quality of your care, or any other concerns or problems you have with the FHCN PACE program. You have the right to a fair and timely process for resolving concerns with the FHCN PACE program. You have the right:

To give a full explanation of the complaint process.
To be encouraged and helped to freely explain your complaints to PACE staff and outside representatives of your choice. You must not be harmed in any way by telling someone your concerns. This includes being punished, threatened, or discriminated against.
To appeal any treatment decision by the FHCN PACE program, staff, or contractors.

You have a right to leave the program.

If, for any reason, you do not feel that the FHCN PACE program is what you want, you have the right to leave the program at any time and have such disenrollment effective the first day of the month following the date the PACE organization receives the participant’s notice of voluntary disenrollment.

Additional Help:

If you have complaints about the FHCN PACE program, think your rights have been violated, or want to talk with someone outside your PACE program about your concerns, call 1-800-MEDICARE or 1-800-633-4227 to get the name and phone number of someone in your State Administering Agency.

1-888-452-8609 (Department of Health Care Services Office of the Ombudsman)