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Bill would study telecommunications access for residents of care facilities after advocates say shared phones undermine privacy
Summary
Delegate Teresa Worman’s HB 1070 would direct the Maryland Department of Health to study feasible telecommunications systems for assisted living, psychiatric and nursing facilities; advocates and AARP supported the study, and MDH and facility groups suggested alternatives to lower cost and suggested enforcement of existing rules.
Delegate Teresa Worman presented House Bill 10 70, a study bill directing the Maryland Department of Health to examine the feasibility of installing and maintaining telecommunications systems in assisted living, psychiatric facilities and nursing homes.
Worman told the Health and Government Operations Committee this year’s bill was revised from a prior version to allow modern telecommunications options such as Wi‑Fi phones or Voice over IP rather than requiring landlines. She said the study would look for cost-effective, private communication options for residents who currently often must use shared common-area phones.
Witnesses including Cornelia Bright Gordon of Maryland Legal Aid and Tammy Bresnahan of AARP Maryland described residents who rely on shared room phones for attorney-client calls, reporting to agencies and private conversations, and said loss of in‑room phones has been used as a cost-saving measure that harms residents’ safety and legal rights. Gordon said shared stations often lack privacy and can cause residents to waive confidentiality or drive attorneys to travel long distances to visit clients.
AARP and Maryland Legal Aid urged a favorable report. Stakeholders including the Department of Health suggested alternatives: Worman said she would accept a work group in lieu of a full consultant study to reduce the fiscal note; a committee member urged the sponsor to work with MDH’s Office of Health Care Quality and the Attorney General’s Office to identify complaints and whether an administrative survey could be done instead of a full consultant study. The MDH fiscal note in the hearing transcript was noted as over $1,000,000; the sponsor said she would explore lower-cost approaches, including a work group and using existing staff.
Seth Miller, a witness who described incidents in a private facility, testified favorably with amendments and urged federal subsidies available through the Universal Service Administrative Company be used to provide patient phones.
No formal committee action or vote is recorded in the transcript for HB 10 70.
