Oregon Patient Trust Bond
Nursing homes, assisted- and independent-living facilities are required to submit a Patient Trust Bond to the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS). The surety bond is a financial protection to patients and residents should the nursing facility mismanage personal funds of residents deposited with the facility.
Jet understands the difficulty to obtain a license from Oregon to operate an assisted-living facility and has factored that into our pricing and application process. Our application process is stripped down to the basics, taking a couple of minutes to purchase the bond online.
What is the Bond Amount Required by the Department of Human Services?
The bond amount required by the ODHS is a variable amount. The bond must be enough to cover the highest amount of resident funds held by the nursing facility for the last 12 months, including petty cash held for residents.
Facilities abiding by the statutes set forth by the ODHS regarding fund management for residents should be able to provide this bond amount in order to secure proper bonding.
Don’t confuse the bond amount as the amount the facility needs to front in order to be licensed. The price for the bond is just a fraction of the limit needed.
How Much Does the Oregon Patient Trust Bond Cost?
With Jet, the price for the Oregon Patient Trust Bond starts at $10 monthly or $100 a year. The premium is directly related to the variable bond amount so the higher the required bond amount is, the higher your premium will be. Other insurance companies with their agent and brokers collect fees and commissions, while Jet has eliminated middlemen — simplifying the bond process and offering lower rates.
| Bond Limit | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $10 | $100 |
| $25,000 | $19 | $188 |
| $50,000 | $38 | $375 |
*Rates shown above are not an offer of surety and are based on personal credit. Ownership with good credit can qualify for bond rate percentages shown above.
The single greatest factor affecting the price of the nursing home bond is the bond amount required.
Jet is the only company offering monthly rates without financing charges and large down payments. As long as the card you provide to Jet clears, your bond remains in force — it’s that simple! And, don’t feel locked into our monthly term if you prefer to prepay for annual terms for the bond. Jet has those offered at a discount when you check out for the bond.
How Do I File the Bond with the Department of Human Services?
You don’t — Jet will file the bond for you! Jet files the bond directly to the Oregon Department of Human Services while other carriers, or their agents and brokers, will charge you a fee to send you the bond to sign and then you would still need to send the bond form.
You will receive a copy of the bond for your records following the purchase of the bond online.
The bond is sent directly to the address below:
Oregon Department of Human Services
500 Summer St. NE E-13
Salem, OR 97301
Avoiding Patient Trust Bond Claims
The ODHS has gone into detail describing how patient funds are to be managed by nursing facilities as described in the state regulations. To avoid a claim, the rules surrounding the handling of funds must be maintained. Below is a synopsis of the procedure for holding funds for patients in nursing homes
- Residents must provide a request in writing.
- Facility provides resident with detailed of account ID number and location of the account.
- Facility must have an accounting system to ensure full and separate accounting of each resident’s personal funds.
- Facility must provide detailed quarterly reports of all activity within the residents account.
- Resident’s funds must be managed as they wish
- Resident must have access to the funds during the weekday
Any patient or person who deposits money for the patient (depositor) can file a claim on the bond to financially recover amounts up to the bond limit for any breach committed by the nursing home. The nursing facility should act quickly and investigate any complaint over funds held for their residents.
What Happens if There is a Claim on My Patient Trust Bond?
Jet will notify you the moment we are notified of a claim by a patient or depositor. You will want to provide any and all related information directly related to the incident. Jet has 45 days to investigate the claim, working to weed out frivolous accusations and assist facilities in their defense. If the claim is valid, Jet will pay the claimant directly.
Unlike a business insurance policy, which protects the nursing facility from unforeseen accidents, a surety bond protects the residents’ funds from the mismanagement or fraudulent actions of the facility. The nursing home is responsible for their actions and therefore must reimburse the surety company for any claims paid. Think of the surety as providing you a letter of credit that you need to demonstrate to the ODHS that it’s safe to care for residents’ money.
Jet uses the Oregon Insurance Regulations for claim handling as a guide for bond claim handling as expressed in the time table below.
| 30 days from receiving claim notice |
Jet acknowledges receipt of claim in internal files and with claimant Jet sends instuctions, claim forms (including proof of loss form) and provides reasonable assitsance to claimant. Jet will reply to communications concerning he claim within reason. |
| 45 days from receiving claim notice |
Jet will complete its claims investigation; or Request for more time to investigate, if necessay. |
| 30 days from receiving properly executed proof of loss from claimant |
Jet accepts or denies the claim; or Requests for more time to investigate. |
| 45 days from requesting more time to investigate |
Jet accepts or denies the claim; or Requests for more time to investigate. |
What is the Application Process for the Nursing Home Bond?
Jet stripped down the average application process, taking into account how difficult it is to become a licensed nursing facility in Oregon. The nursing facility will need to provide Jet with the bond amount needed, which is based on the amount of resident funds held.
The process is all online and only takes a few minutes with Jet. Many other agents and carriers require nursing homes to go through a complex process to get a surety bond, including paper applications, indemnity agreements, third-party premium finance applications, 24+ hour quote turnaround times, etc.
Do I Need to Renew My Bond?
Typically, the bond only needs to be renewed if you purchase the bond on annual terms. This can be avoided altogether with Jet’s monthly payment option. The Oregon Patient Trust Bond is continuous until cancelled, meaning as long as payments are made, the bond remains active with the ODHS.
Whether the nursing facility elects to pay annually or monthly with Jet and misses a scheduled payment, we will notify the facility to rectify the situation before sending a cancellation notice to the ODHS. In the case of annual payment, we reach out months in advance with notice to avoid any issue with a facility’s license.
Jet’s renewal process has been simplified to the point where it only takes one minute to renew a bond.
How Do I Get a Refund If I Choose to Cancel My Bond?
Nursing facilities can cancel the surety bond at any time and Jet will send back a prorated refund for the remaining time on the bond. There are no cancellation fees or minimum premium amounts withheld by Jet.
For the long-term investment of running a care facility, the main concern is not cancelling the bond but making sure the bond does not cancel while the nursing home is operating. The Oregon Department of Human Services requires 30 days notice before the bond is cancelled giving facilities a grace period to get another surety bond in place without lapse. When calculating bond refunds, the 30-day period must be factored in as the bond is still active at that time.
When Does a Patient Trust Bond Expire?
The bond is set to expire when the bond term ends and is not tied to the licensing period for the nursing facility. The bond term, and consequently the bond expiration date, are set at the time the bond is purchased.
With Jet’s monthly bonding options, there is no expiration date. Just pay as you go and the bond remains active.
Why is the Patient Trust Bond Required by the Oregon Department of Human Services?
The Patient Trust Bond is required by the ODHS to become and remain a licensed nursing facility. Part of the Oregon DHS’s mission is to set requirements that promote quality care and maximization of personal choice and independence for residents. Protecting resident’s funds falls within that mission and the surety bond acts as a third party to guarantee the residents’ financial well-being. By involving the insurance industry, the ODHS leverages the surety carrier’s financial strength and expertise in handling time-consuming situations that can cause additional departmental expenses.
What Other Fees are Related to a Nursing Home License?
The ODHS charges their own license application and renewal fee to offset the cost to manage each of the facilities under their administration. Jet has broken this down for facilities to reference here.
| Number of Beds | Application Fee | Annual Renewal Fee |
|---|---|---|
| 1-15 Beds | $2,000 Fee | $1,000 Renewal Fee |
| 16-49 Beds | $3,000 Fee | $1,500 Renewal Fee |
| 50-99 Beds | $4,000 Fee | $2,000 Renewal Fee |
| 100-150 Beds | $5,000 Fee | $2,500 Renewal Fee |
| 151+ Beds | $6,000 Fee | $3,000 Renewal Fee |
