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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6987
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING CLOSURES AND EVACUATIONS OF
RESIDENTIAL CARE HOMES AND NURSING HOMES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (g) of section 19a-535 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 2
passage): 3
(g) The facility shall be responsible for assisting the resident in 4
finding appropriate placement and, in providing such assistance, shall 5
consider the resident's proximity to family members and any other 6
known support networks. 7
Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 19a-535a of the general statutes is 8
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 9
passage): 10
(c) The facility shall be responsible for assisting the resident in finding 11
an alternative residence and, in providing such assistance, shall consider 12
the resident's proximity to family members and any other known 13
support networks. A discharge plan, prepared by the facility, in a form 14
and manner prescribed by the commissioner, as modified from time to 15
time, shall include the resident's individual needs and shall be 16
submitted to the resident not later than seven days after the notice of 17 Substitute Bill No. 6987
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transfer or discharge is issued to the resident. The facility shall submit 18
the discharge plan to the commissioner at or before the hearing held 19
pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. 20
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Social Services, in 21
conjunction with the Commissioner of Public Health and the State 22
Ombudsman, shall convene a working group to examine (1) residential 23
care home evacuation procedures, and (2) whether to require residential 24
care homes to participate in a mutual aid digital platform that supports 25
the risk management needs of health care organizations, including 26
dedicated solutions for emergency management, inspection, testing and 27
maintenance management, inspections management and health care 28
coalition management. The working group shall include not less than 29
two representatives of residential care homes. Not later than January 1, 30
2026, the working group shall submit a report, in accordance with the 31
provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing 32
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 33
relating to human services, public health and aging regarding the 34
findings and recommendations of the working group. 35
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) No person acting individually 36
or jointly with any other person shall establish, conduct, operate or 37
maintain a nursing home or residential care home, as such terms are 38
defined in section 19a-490 of the general statutes, without maintaining 39
insurance that provides coverage for loss or damage to the personal 40
property of nursing home or residential care home residents as a result 41
of the closure or evacuation of such nursing home or residential care 42
home. The amount of such insurance shall be sufficient to replace any 43
such personal property lost or damaged as a result of such a closure or 44
evacuation. 45
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Not later than January 1, 2026, 46
the Commissioner of Public Health shall develop and maintain a 47
database that tracks real-time bed availability in nursing homes and 48
residential care homes, as such terms are defined in section 19a-490 of 49
the general statutes, to facilitate placements in nursing homes and 50 Substitute Bill No. 6987
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residential care homes. The commissioner shall make such database 51
accessible to nursing homes, residential care homes and any state 52
agency or other entity that the commissioner deems appropriate. 53
Sec. 6. Subsection (h) of section 19a-533 of the general statutes is 54
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 55
1, 2025): 56
(h) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a nursing home 57
shall, without regard to the order of its waiting list, admit an applicant 58
who (1) seeks to transfer from a nursing home that is closing, [or] (2) 59
seeks to transfer from a nursing home in which the applicant was placed 60
following the closure of the nursing home where such applicant 61
previously resided or, in the case of a nursing home placed in 62
receivership, the anticipated closure of the nursing home where such 63
applicant previously resided, provided (A) the transfer occurs not later 64
than sixty days following the date that such applicant was transferred 65
from the nursing home where he or she previously resided, and (B) 66
except when the nursing home that is closing transferred the resident 67
due to an emergency, the applicant submitted an application to the 68
nursing home to which he or she seeks admission at the time of the 69
applicant's transfer from the nursing home where he or she previously 70
resided, or (3) seeks to transfer from a nursing home that (A) has filed a 71
certificate of need request pursuant to section 17b-352 on which the 72
Commissioner of Social Services has not issued a final decision, and (B) 73
has ten residents or less, provided the Commissioners of Social Services 74
and Public Health and the State Ombudsman jointly agree that the 75
subject of such certificate of need will have a significant impact on such 76
nursing home's residents. A nursing home that qualifies for a waiting 77
list exemption pursuant to subsection (f) or (g) of this section shall not 78
be required to admit an indigent person under this subsection except 79
when the resident is being transferred from a nursing home that is 80
closing due to an emergency. No nursing home shall be required to 81
admit an applicant pursuant to the provisions of this subsection if the 82
nursing home has determined that (i) the applicant does not have a 83
payor source because the applicant has been denied Medicaid eligibility 84 Substitute Bill No. 6987
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or the applicant has failed to pay a nursing home that is closing for the 85
three months preceding the date of the application for admittance and 86
has no pending application for Medicaid, (ii) the applicant is subject to 87
a Medicaid penalty period, or (iii) the applicant does not require nursing 88
home level of care as determined in accordance with applicable state 89
and federal requirements. 90
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 19a-535(g)
Sec. 2 from passage 19a-535a(c)
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 5 from passage New section
Sec. 6 October 1, 2025 19a-533(h)
AGE Joint Favorable Subst.