Last updated July 2026 · Reviewed by the Golden Years care team
California law requires hospitals to arrange post-hospital care before discharging at-risk patients, guarantees designated family caregivers a role in discharge planning, and mandates DOJ/FBI background checks for every legitimate home caregiver. Medicare adds the right to appeal a rushed discharge with continued coverage. Here is what each protection means and how to use it.
If your parent is in the hospital right now
This is the moment families feel the least power — and hold the most. California Health & Safety Code §1262.5 requires every hospital to make appropriate arrangements for posthospital care, including care at home, before discharging any patient likely to suffer adverse health consequences without adequate planning. That means the discharge planner's job is to help you solve the "who will take care of them" problem — not hand it to you at the exit.
What to say to the discharge planner
"We don't yet have a safe plan for care at home, and I'd like your help arranging one before discharge, as required under the hospital's discharge planning obligations." Then ask them to coordinate directly with your chosen home care agency — Golden Years works with discharge planners across California and can typically have a caregiver in place within 24–48 hours.
Under California's Hospital & Family Caregiver Law (SB 675, in effect since 2016), every admitted patient has the right to designate a family caregiver. Once designated, the hospital must notify you when a discharge order is issued, give you the opportunity to participate in discharge planning, and provide instruction on medications and aftercare — in a language you understand, with the chance to ask questions.
If the discharge feels too soon (Medicare patients)
Medicare patients have the right to request an immediate review of a discharge decision from California's Quality Improvement Organization — and Medicare continues covering the hospital stay while the appeal is decided. The request phone number is printed on the "Important Message from Medicare" notice given within two days of admission. Filing an appeal buys the time to arrange care properly instead of scrambling.
When you're choosing who cares for your parent
Under California's Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act, every home care organization must be licensed by the state, and every caregiver must pass a DOJ and FBI background check, be listed on the state's public Home Care Aide Registry, complete required training, and be TB tested before working in a client's home. This isn't a marketing promise — it's the legal floor for operating in California.
How to verify any agency or caregiver yourself
Ask the agency for its Home Care Organization license number, and look up any individual caregiver on California's public Home Care Aide Registry. A legitimate agency will provide both without hesitation. Golden Years is state-licensed and every caregiver is registered — we encourage families to check.
The law also draws a hard line families should understand before hiring privately: a caregiver working in your home is almost always a household employee under California law — regardless of what any agreement says — making the family responsible for payroll taxes, California's strict domestic worker overtime rules, and workers compensation exposure if the caregiver is injured. An agency carries all of that instead. It's the core trade-off in the agency-versus-private-hire decision.
If you're comparing facilities
New California laws effective in 2026 require assisted living facilities to provide written disclosures about pricing, staffing ratios, and regulatory citations before you sign a contract. Ask for all three documents in writing — the pricing disclosure in particular, since facility base rates commonly exclude tiered care fees that add $1,000–$3,500 per month as needs increase.
The three documents to request from any facility
Written pricing including all care-level fees and how they escalate; current staffing ratios including overnight; and the facility's regulatory citation history. Under the 2026 disclosure laws these must be provided before contract signing — a facility that hesitates is telling you something.
When you're planning how to pay
Medicare does not cover ongoing non-medical home care — but families have more funding routes than most discover on their own. Qualified long-term care services can be tax-deductible as medical expenses when a loved one is chronically ill and care follows a prescribed plan. Veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for VA Aid & Attendance. Medi-Cal covers in-home support services for qualifying Californians. And long-term care insurance policies purchased earlier in life often cover exactly this.
How Golden Years fits into these protections
Every right on this page works better with a licensed agency ready to act. Golden Years coordinates directly with hospital discharge planners, provides license and registry verification on request, and can typically begin care within 24–48 hours — which is precisely the "appropriate arrangement" the law expects to exist before your parent comes home.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Hospital discharge requirements apply to patients admitted as inpatients; specifics vary by situation, coverage, and facility type.