General Assembly Raised Bill No. 852
January Session, 2013 LCO No. 3009
*03009_______HS_*
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 852
January Session, 2013
LCO No. 3009
*03009_______HS_*
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT CONCERNING NURSING HOME OVERSIGHT AND COMMUNITY-BASED PLACEMENTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17b-339 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) There is established a Nursing Home Financial Advisory Committee to examine the financial solvency of nursing homes on an ongoing basis and to support the Departments of Social Services and Public Health in their mission to provide oversight to the nursing home industry on issues concerning the financial solvency of and quality of care provided by nursing homes. The committee shall consist of the following members or their designees: The Commissioner of Social Services; [, or his designee;] the Commissioner of Public Health; [, or his designee;] the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management; [, or his designee;] the executive director of the Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority; [, or his designee; the president of LeadingAge Connecticut, Inc. or the president's designee; and the executive director of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, or the executive director's designee] the Long-Term Care Ombudsman; and two members appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be a representative of not-for-profit nursing homes and one of whom shall be a representative of for-profit nursing homes. The Commissioner of Social Services [or his designee] and the Commissioner of Public Health or [his] their [designee] designees shall be the chairpersons of the committee.
(b) The committee, upon receipt of a report relative to the financial solvency of and quality of care provided by nursing homes in the state, shall recommend appropriate action for improving the financial condition of any nursing home that [is in financial distress] may have insufficient resources to meet its operating costs to the Commissioner of Social Services and the Commissioner of Public Health. The Commissioner of Social Services shall submit quarterly reports to the committee concerning pending nursing home requests for interim rate increases. Such reports shall, without identifying any requesting facility by name, list the amount of each increase requested, the reason for the request and the rate that will result if the request is granted.
(c) Not later than January 1, 2010, and annually thereafter, the committee shall submit a report on its activities to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to aging, appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, human services and public health, [and to the select committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to aging,] in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a.
(d) Not later than [January 1, 2010] October 1, 2013, and [quarterly] annually thereafter, the committee shall meet with the chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, human services and public health, and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman to discuss activities of the committee relating to the financial solvency of and quality of care provided by nursing homes.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) For purposes of this section, "nursing home facility" has the same meaning as provided in section 19a-521 of the general statutes.
(b) Not later than March 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the Department of Social Services shall review the census for the preceding year taken on a bimonthly basis of each licensed nursing home facility. Upon the request of the department, any nursing home facility with an occupancy rate less than eighty-five per cent for three or more consecutive months shall provide, not later than thirty days after such request, profit and loss statements, accounts payable, debt or mortgage payments and any other cost report information that the department deems necessary, including, but not limited to, accounts payable by vendor and by days outstanding, cash flow statements, and details on lending and borrowing agreements in a format prescribed by the department. The department may reduce a nursing home facility's rate by up to ten per cent if the facility fails to provide the information requested pursuant to this subsection.
(c) The Commissioner of Social Services may provide a copy of any report compiled by the department pursuant to subsection (b) of this section to the Nursing Home Financial Advisory Committee, established under section 17b-339 of the general statutes, as amended by this act.
Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 17b-352 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) Any facility which intends to (1) transfer all or part of its ownership or control prior to being initially licensed; (2) introduce any additional function or service into its program of care or expand an existing function or service; or (3) terminate a service or decrease substantially its total bed capacity, shall submit a complete request for permission to implement such transfer, addition, expansion, increase, termination or decrease with such information as the department requires to the Department of Social Services, provided no permission or request for permission to close a facility is required when a facility in receivership is closed by order of the Superior Court pursuant to section 19a-545. The Commissioner of Social Services and the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman pursuant to section 17b-400 shall be notified by the facility [of any proposed actions pursuant to this subsection at the same time the request for permission is submitted to the department and when a facility in receivership is closed by order of the Superior Court pursuant to section 19a-545] in writing at least thirty days prior to the facility submitting a letter of intent to the department for a certificate of need application pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. Upon such notice, any such facility shall allow the Department of Social Services to evaluate each resident of the facility to determine which residents may be eligible to transition to a community-based setting pursuant to section 17b-369.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage 17b-339
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Sec. 3 from passage 17b-352(b)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
17b-339
Sec. 2
from passage
New section
Sec. 3
from passage
17b-352(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To give the Department of Social Services a means to identify in advance nursing homes in danger of bankruptcy, receivership or closure and to assist eligible residents to move into a community-based setting.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]