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Participant Bill of Rights

All PACE Your LIFE staff must adhere to the provision of these rights for each participant:
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Respect and Nondiscrimination

Each participant has the right to considerate, respectful care from all PACE Your LIFE employees and contractors at all times and under all circumstances. Each participant has the right not to be discriminated against in the delivery of required PACE services based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, or source of payment.  Specifically, each participant has the right to the following:   

  1. To receive comprehensive health care in a safe and clean environment and in an accessible manner. 
  2. To be treated with dignity and respect, be afforded privacy and confidentiality in all aspects of care and be provided humane care. 
  3. Not to be required to perform services for the Milford Wellness Village PACE Program. 
  4. To have reasonable access to a telephone. 
  5. To be free from harm, including physical or mental abuse, neglect, corporal punishment, involuntary seclusion, excessive medication, and any physical or chemical restraint imposed for purposes of discipline or convenience and not required to treat the participant’s medical symptoms. 
  6. To be encouraged and assisted to exercise rights as a participant, including the Medicare and Medicaid appeals processes as well as civil and other legal rights. 
  7. To be encouraged and assisted to recommend changes in policies and services to PACE Your LIFE staff.

Information Disclosure

Each PACE Your LIFE participant has the right to receive accurate, easily understood information and to receive assistance in making informed health care decisions. Specifically, each participant has the following rights:   

  1. To be fully informed in writing of the services available from PACE Your LIFE, including identification of all services that are delivered through contracts, rather than furnished directly by PACE Your LIFE. This information must be provided before enrollment, at enrollment, and at the time a participant’s needs necessitate the disclosure and delivery of such information in order to allow the participant to make an informed choice. 
  2. To have the enrollment agreement fully explained to them in a manner understood by the participant and/or his or her designated responsible party. 
  3. To examine, or upon reasonable request, to be assisted to examine the results of the most recent review of PACE Your LIFE conducted by the State Administering Agency (SAA) and/or CMS and any plan of correction in effect. 

Choice of Providers

Each participant has the right to a choice of healthcare providers, within PACE Your LIFE’s network, which is sufficient to ensure access to appropriate, high-quality health care. Each participant has the right to the following:

  1. To choose his or her primary care physician and specialists from within PACE Your LIFE’s network.
  2. To request that a qualified specialist for women’s health services furnish routine or preventive women’s health services.
  3. To have reasonable and timely access to specialists as indicated by the participant’s health condition and consistent with current clinical practice guidelines.
  4. To receive necessary care in all care settings, up to and including placement in a long-term care facility when the PACE organization can no longer provide the services necessary to maintain the participant safely in the community.
  5. To disenroll from 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. 

Access to Emergency Services

Each participant has the right to access emergency health care services when and where the need arises without prior authorization by the PACE Your LIFE interdisciplinary team.  

Participation in Treatment Decisions

Each participant has the right to participate fully in all decisions related to his or her treatment. A participant who is unable to participate fully in treatment decisions has the right to designate a representative. Specifically, each participant has the following rights:

  1. To have all treatment options explained in a culturally competent manner and to make health care decisions, including the right to refuse treatment and be informed of the consequences of the decisions. 
  2. To have someone at PACE Your LIFE explain advance directives and to establish them if the participant so desires, in accordance with related regulations (CFR 489.100 and 489.102).
  3. To be fully informed of his or her health and functional status by the interdisciplinary team.
  4. To request a reassessment by the interdisciplinary team.
  5. To be given reasonable advance notice, in writing, of any transfer to another treatment setting and the justification for the transfer (that is, due to medical reasons or for the participant’s welfare, or that of other participants). The justification must be documented in the participant’s medical record.
  6. To participate in the development and implementation of the participants’ individual plan of care. 

Confidentiality of Health Information

Each participant has the right to communicate with health care providers in confidence and to have the confidentiality of his or her individually identifiable health care information protected. Each participant also has the right to review and copy his or her medical records and request amendments to those records. Specifically, each participant has the following rights:

  1. To be assured of confidential treatment of all information contained in the health record, including information contained in an automated data bank. 
  2. To be assured that his or her written consent will be obtained for the release of information to persons not otherwise authorized under law to receive it. 
  3. To provide written consent that limits the degree of information and the persons to whom the information may be given. 

Complaints and Appeals

Each participant has the right to a fair and efficient process for resolving differences with PACE Your LIFE, including a rigorous system for internal review by the organization and an independent system of external review. Specifically, each participant has the specific following rights:   

  1. The right to a full explanation of the complaint process, including specific time frames.
  2. The right to be encouraged and assisted to voice complaints to PACE Your LIFE staff and outside representatives of his or her choice, free of any restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal by the PACE Your LIFE staff. 
  3. The right to appeal any treatment decision of the PACE Your LIFE organization, its employees, or contractors.