Bill Text: NY S03060 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires operators of nursing homes and residential health care facilities to provide notification of certain contracts and agreements to all residents, representatives, staff and the office of the long-term care ombudsman.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S03060 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S03060-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3060 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 27, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. RIVERA, MAY, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requirements for residential health care facilities and nursing homes The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 2801-a of the public health law is amended by 2 adding two new subdivisions 2-b and 3-b to read as follows: 3 2-b. With respect to the incorporation or establishment of any nursing 4 home, in addition to the requirements set forth in subdivision two of 5 this section, after the filing of an application the public health and 6 health planning council shall (a) provide notice to the public, nursing 7 homes residents and their representatives, staff and their represen- 8 tatives, and the state office of the long-term care ombudsman and the 9 regional office having geographical jurisdiction of the area where the 10 proposed institution is to be located of the proposed certificate or 11 application on the department's website within thirty days of receipt; 12 provide a mechanism to submit written comments electronically on the 13 proposed certificate or application to the public health and health 14 planning council; and provide at least ninety days for such comment 15 period, and (b) forward a copy of the proposed certificate or applica- 16 tion for establishment, and accompanying documents, to the state office 17 of the long-term care ombudsman and the regional office having geograph- 18 ical jurisdiction of the area where the proposed institution is to be 19 located within thirty days of receipt. The public health and health 20 planning council shall act upon such application after the state office 21 of the long-term care ombudsman, regional office and the public have had 22 a reasonable time, but not less than ninety days, to submit their recom- 23 mendations. At the time members of the public health and health planning 24 council are notified that an application is scheduled for consideration, 25 the applicant, the public, the state office of the long-term care EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07696-01-1S. 3060 2 1 ombudsman and the regional offices, shall be so notified in writing 2 which may be through electronic means. The public health and health 3 planning council shall afford the applicant an opportunity to present 4 information in person concerning the application to a committee desig- 5 nated by the council. The public health and health planning council 6 shall not take any action contrary to the advice of the public, the 7 state office of the long-term care ombudsman or the regional office 8 until it affords such entities an opportunity to request a public hear- 9 ing and, if so requested, a public hearing shall be held. If the public 10 health and health planning council proposes to disapprove the applica- 11 tion it shall afford the applicant an opportunity to request a public 12 hearing. The public health and health planning council may hold a public 13 hearing on the application on its own motion. Any public hearing held 14 pursuant to this subdivision may be conducted by the public health and 15 health planning council, or by any individual designated by the public 16 health and health planning council. The provisions of subdivision two of 17 this section which are not inconsistent with this subdivision shall 18 apply to nursing homes. 19 3-b. With respect to an application for a certificate of incorpo- 20 ration, articles of organization or application for establishment of a 21 nursing home, in addition to the criteria set forth in subdivision three 22 of this section, the public health and health planning council shall not 23 issue an approval unless they have afforded an adequate opportunity of 24 not less than ninety days to members of the public, residents and their 25 representatives, staff and their representatives, the state office of 26 the long-term care ombudsman and the regional offices to comment through 27 the department's website and through other means on the application, the 28 character and competency of the individuals applying, and/or the 29 consistently high level of care that has or has not been rendered by an 30 applicant where one or more individuals or entities with a five percent 31 or greater ownership interest in the applicant has a five percent or 32 greater ownership interest in a facility located in the United States 33 that has on average for any of the four most recent quarters, three 34 hours or less total direct care staff time per resident per day or less 35 than one-half hour per resident per day registered nurse staffing, as 36 published by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the feder- 37 al center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) payroll based jour- 38 nal data or where there have been violations of the state or federal 39 nursing home code, or other applicable rules and regulations, that 40 threatened to directly affect the health, safety or welfare of any 41 patient or resident, including but not limited to a finding of immediate 42 jeopardy, or actual harm, and were recurrent or were not promptly 43 corrected, including but not limited to repeat deficiencies for the same 44 or similar violations over a three year period or during the entire 45 duration of ownership if less than three years, or any facility which 46 has received a Double G citation issued by the Centers for Medicare and 47 Medicaid Services in the prior three years. The public health and health 48 planning council shall also consider whether the proposed incorporators, 49 directors, sponsors, stockholders, members or operators of a nursing 50 home have affiliations with or interests in a facility anywhere in the 51 United States which: (i) is listed on the CMS special focus facility 52 list, or its successor, or (ii) is listed on the CMS special focus 53 facility candidate list, or its successor, or (iii) received inadequate 54 performance scores over the previous three years on the New York state 55 nursing home quality initiative or on similar quality measurement initi- 56 atives or tools, or (iv) has been in receivership; closed as a result ofS. 3060 3 1 a settlement agreement from a decertification action or licensure revo- 2 cation; or has been involuntarily terminated from the Medicare or Medi- 3 caid program in the prior five years, or (v) has been convicted of 4 patient abuse, neglect or exploitation, or (vi) has been the subject of 5 an enforcement action by the state Medicaid fraud control unit or the 6 federal health and human services office of inspector general, or (vii) 7 has outstanding violations with the national labor relations board or 8 the occupational safety and health administration. The provisions of 9 subdivision three of this section which are not inconsistent with this 10 subdivision shall apply to nursing homes. 11 § 2. Section 2803-x of the public health law, as added by chapter 677 12 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 13 § 2803-x. Requirements related to residential health care facilities 14 and related assets and operations. 1. The operator of a residential 15 health care facility shall notify the commissioner of any common or 16 familial ownership of any corporation, other entity or individual 17 providing services to the operator or the facility. Such information 18 shall also be included in the residency agreement for prospective resi- 19 dents and as addendums for residents currently residing in the residen- 20 tial health care facility. The operator shall notify the department at 21 least ninety days prior to entering into any new common or familial 22 ownership of any corporation, or other entity or individual providing 23 services to the operator of the facility. The operator shall also 24 provide notification to all residents and their representatives, staff 25 and their representatives, and the state office of the long-term care 26 ombudsman. 27 2. The operator of a residential health care facility shall, on an 28 annual basis, attest to the department, in a form determined by the 29 department, to the accuracy of the information provided to the depart- 30 ment under this section. 31 3. The operator of a residential health care facility may not enter 32 into any arrangement to guarantee the debt or other obligation of a 33 party which has not received establishment approval. 34 4. The operator of a residential health care facility shall notify the 35 department at least ninety days prior to executing a letter of intent or 36 other contractual agreement related to: 37 a. the sale, mortgaging, encumbrance, or other disposition of the real 38 property of the facility; and 39 b. the management, operations, staffing agency or other entity to be 40 involved in the operations of the facility. 41 5. The department, shall, within ten days after receipt of a notifica- 42 tion required under subdivision four of this section, notify the state 43 office of the long-term care ombudsman of an operator of a residential 44 health care facility's intent to execute a letter of intent or other 45 contractual agreement related to: 46 a. the sale, mortgaging, encumbrance, or other disposition of the real 47 property of the facility; and 48 b. the management, operations, staffing agency or other entity to be 49 involved in the operations of the facility. 50 6. The operator of a residential health care facility shall notify all 51 residents and their representatives, staff and their representatives, 52 and the state office of the long-term care ombudsman within five days 53 of executing a letter of intent or other contractual agreement as 54 described in paragraphs a and b of subdivision four of this section. The 55 department shall make regulations and take other actions to implement 56 procedures for such notification.S. 3060 4 1 7. The operator of a residential health care facility shall retain 2 sufficient authority and control to discharge its responsibilities and 3 the department shall by regulations outline those elements of control 4 which shall not be delegated to a managing entity. 5 8. Any new owner, operator or management company of a residential 6 health care facility shall retain all employees for a sixty-day transi- 7 tion period, except for the nursing home administrator and the director 8 of nursing, and shall not reduce the wages or benefits, or modify any 9 other terms and conditions of employment, economic or otherwise during 10 the transition period. 11 9. In any instance where a residential health care facility is sold or 12 otherwise transferred and used for a purpose which is not a health care 13 purpose, the operator shall remit to the department an amount equivalent 14 to the undepreciated value of capital assets for which the provider has 15 been funded or reimbursed through Medicaid rate adjustments or otherwise 16 funded or reimbursed with resources provided by the state for the 17 purpose of improvement or transformation. 18 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
