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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 6386
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 3532
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT CONCERNING SAFEGUARDING THE RIGHTS, HEALTH,
FINANCES AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF NURSING HOME RESIDENTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) The Commissioner of Social 1
Services shall ensure that the Department of Social Services (1) renders 2
a final decision on a Medicaid applicant's eligibility promptly and 3
without undue delay in accordance with section 17b-80 of the general 4
statutes, and (2) provides written notice to such applicant of the 5
department's final decision not later than fifteen calendar days after 6
such decision is rendered. 7
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) For purposes of this section (1) 8
"nursing home facility" means a chronic and convalescent nursing home 9
and a rest home with nursing supervision, and (2) "action to recover 10
costs" includes, but is not limited to, placing a lien on real property of a 11
Medicaid applicant. A nursing home facility shall not take any action to 12
recover costs from a Medicaid applicant residing in such facility until a 13
final decision has been rendered by the Department of Social Services 14
on such applicant's Medicaid eligibility and such applicant has 15
exhausted all appeal rights pursuant to sections 17b-60 and 17b-61 of the 16
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general statutes. 17
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 17b-340e of the general statutes is 18
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 19
2023): 20
(a) In addition to any applicable recoupment or rate decrease 21
pursuant to any other provision of the general statutes, a nursing home 22
facility that receives a rate increase for wage enhancements for facility 23
employees may also be assessed a civil penalty if the facility fails to use 24
the rate increase for that purpose. The Department of Social Services 25
may assess a civil penalty upon completion of a department audit 26
conducted in accordance with the nursing home facility's Medicaid 27
provider enrollment agreements. The civil penalty assessed pursuant to 28
this section shall not exceed an amount greater than [fifty] seventy-five 29
per cent of the total dollar amount of the rate increase received by the 30
nursing home facility but not used for wage enhancements for facility 31
employees. 32
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 19a-494 of the general statutes is 33
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 34
2023): 35
(a) The Commissioner of Public Health, after a hearing held in 36
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, may take any of the 37
following actions, singly or in combination, in any case in which the 38
commissioner finds that there has been a substantial failure to comply 39
with the requirements established under this chapter, the Public Health 40
Code or licensing regulations: 41
(1) Revoke a license or certificate; 42
(2) Suspend a license or certificate; 43
(3) Censure a licensee or certificate holder; 44
(4) Issue a letter of reprimand to a licensee or certificate holder; 45
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(5) Place a licensee or certificate holder on probationary status and 46
require him to report regularly to the department on the matters which 47
are the basis of the probation; 48
(6) Restrict the acquisition of other facilities for a period of time set 49
by the commissioner; 50
(7) Issue an order compelling compliance with applicable statutes or 51
regulations of the department; [or] 52
(8) Assess a civil penalty against a licensee or certificate holder; or 53
[(8)] (9) Impose a directed plan of correction. 54
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 19a-562h of the general statutes is 55
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 56
2023): 57
(a) If the Commissioner of Public Health finds that a nursing home 58
facility has substantially failed to comply with a nursing home facility 59
staffing level requirement established pursuant to the regulations of 60
Connecticut state agencies, the commissioner may (1) take any 61
disciplinary action against the nursing home facility permitted under 62
section 19a-494, as amended by this act, including, but not limited to, 63
assessing a civil penalty against the licensee of such nursing home 64
facility, and (2) issue or cause to be issued a citation to the licensee of 65
such nursing home facility pursuant to the provisions of section 19a-524. 66
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2023 17b-340e(a)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2023 19a-494(a)
Sec. 5 July 1, 2023 19a-562h(a)
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Statement of Purpose:
To require timely eligibility determinations for Medicaid applicants,
require notification of such determinations to such applicants, prohibit
nursing homes from taking steps to recover costs of care until Medicaid
eligibility is determined and heighten penalties for nursing homes that
misuse state funds earmarked for staff wage enhancements or violate
minimum staffing requirements.
[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.]
Co-Sponsors: REP. WALKER, 93rd Dist.
H.B. 6386