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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7026
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING EXCEPTIONS TO THE NURSING HOME BED
MORATORIUM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 17b-354 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 2
passage): 3
(a) The Department of Social Services shall not accept or approve any 4
requests for additional nursing home beds, except (1) beds restricted to 5
use by patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome or by 6
patients requiring neurological rehabilitation; (2) beds associated with a 7
continuing care facility, as described in section 17b-520, provided such 8
beds are not used in the Medicaid program; [. For the purpose of this 9
subsection, beds associated with a continuing care facility are not subject 10
to the certificate of need provisions pursuant to sections 17b-352 and 11
17b-353;] (3) Medicaid certified beds either to be relocated from one 12
licensed nursing facility to another licensed nursing facility to meet a 13
priority need identified in the strategic plan developed pursuant to 14
subsection (c) of section 17b-369 or new beds added to an existing 15
facility or a new facility with preference given to a nontraditional, small-16
house-style nursing home facility that incorporates the goals for nursing 17
facilities referenced in the department's strategic plan for long-term 18
care, as outlined in section 17b-355, as amended by this act, to address 19
priority needs reflected by area census trends; (4) licensed Medicaid 20 Substitute Bill No. 7026
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nursing facility beds to be relocated from one or more existing nursing 21
facilities to a new nursing facility, including a replacement facility, 22
provided (A) no new Medicaid certified beds are added, (B) at least one 23
currently licensed facility is closed in the transaction as a result of the 24
relocation, (C) the relocation is done within available appropriations, 25
(D) the facility participates in the Money Follows the Person 26
demonstration project pursuant to section 17b-369, (E) the availability of 27
beds in the area of need will not be adversely affected, (F) the certificate 28
of need approval for such new facility or facility relocation and the 29
associated capital expenditures are obtained pursuant to sections 17b-30
352 and 17b-353, and (G) the facilities included in the bed relocation and 31
closure shall be in accordance with the strategic plan developed 32
pursuant to subsection (c) of section 17b-369; and (5) proposals to build 33
a nontraditional, small-house style nursing home designed to enhance 34
the quality of life for nursing facility residents, provided that the 35
nursing facility agrees to reduce its total number of licensed beds by a 36
percentage determined by the Commissioner of Social Services in 37
accordance with the department's strategic plan for long-term care. For 38
the purposes of this subsection, beds associated with a continuing care 39
facility are not subject to the certificate of need provisions pursuant to 40
sections 17b-352 and 17b-353. 41
Sec. 2. Section 17b-355 of the general statutes is repealed and the 42
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 43
(a) In determining whether a request submitted pursuant to sections 44
17b-352 to 17b-354, inclusive, as amended by this act, will be granted, 45
modified or denied, the Commissioner of Social Services shall consider 46
the following: (1) The financial feasibility of the request and its impact 47
on the applicant's rates and financial condition, (2) the contribution of 48
the request to the quality, accessibility and cost-effectiveness of the 49
delivery of long-term care in the region, (3) whether there is clear public 50
need for the request, (4) the relationship of any proposed change to the 51
applicant's current utilization statistics and the effect of the proposal on 52
the utilization statistics of other facilities in the applicant's service area, 53
(5) the business interests of all owners, partners, associates, 54 Substitute Bill No. 7026
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incorporators, directors, sponsors, stockholders and operators and the 55
personal background of such persons, and (6) any other factor which the 56
Department of Social Services deems relevant. In considering whether 57
there is clear public need for any request for the relocation of beds to a 58
replacement facility, or for new beds added to an existing facility or a 59
new facility, the commissioner shall consider whether there is a 60
demonstrated bed need in the towns within a fifteen-mile radius of the 61
town in which the beds are proposed to be located and whether the 62
availability of beds in the applicant's service area will be adversely 63
affected. 64
(b) Any proposal to relocate nursing home beds from an existing 65
facility to a new facility shall not increase the number of Medicaid 66
certified beds and shall result in the closure of at least one currently 67
licensed facility. The commissioner may request that any applicant 68
seeking to replace an existing facility reduce the number of beds in the 69
new facility by a percentage that is consistent with the department's 70
strategic state-wide long-term rebalancing plan for long-term care. If an 71
applicant seeking to replace an existing facility with a new facility owns 72
or operates more than one nursing facility, the commissioner may 73
request that the applicant close two or more facilities before approving 74
the proposal to build a new facility. The commissioner shall also 75
consider whether an application to establish a new or replacement 76
nursing facility proposes a nontraditional, small-house style nursing 77
facility and incorporates goals for nursing facilities referenced in the 78
department's strategic state-wide long-term rebalancing plan for long-79
term care, including, but not limited to, (1) promoting person-centered 80
care, (2) providing enhanced quality of care, (3) creating community 81
space for all nursing facility residents, and (4) developing stronger 82
connections between the nursing facility residents and the surrounding 83
community. 84
[Bed] (c) Demonstrated bed need shall be based on the recent 85
occupancy percentage of area nursing facilities [and the] with 86
occupancy above ninety-six per cent for a minimum of two consecutive 87
quarters. The department may consider projected bed need [for no more 88 Substitute Bill No. 7026
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than five years] into the future at [ninety-seven and one-half per cent] 89
occupancy above ninety-six per cent using the latest [official population 90
projections by town and age as published by the Office of Policy and 91
Management and the latest available state-wide nursing facility 92
utilization statistics by age cohort from the Department of Public 93
Health] strategic state-wide long-term rebalancing plan for long-term 94
care as published by the department. The commissioner may also 95
consider area specific utilization and reductions in utilization rates to 96
account for the increased use of less institutional alternatives. 97
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 17b-354(a)
Sec. 2 from passage 17b-355
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 2(c), "for long-term care" was added after "strategic state-wide
long-term rebalancing plan" for internal consistency.
HS Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO