Bill Text: NY S05460 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: Enacts the "public nursing home protection act" directing the commissioner of health to study and report on the current and expected future status of public nursing homes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-04 - PRINT NUMBER 5460A [S05460 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S05460-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5460--A
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      May 14, 2015
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  HANNON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Health --  recommitted  to
          the  Committee  on  Health in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted to said committee
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public  health law, in relation to enacting the
          "public nursing home protection act of 2016"; and  providing  for  the
          repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding  a  new  article
     2  28-F to read as follows:
     3                                ARTICLE 28-F
     4                        PUBLIC NURSING HOME PROTECTION
     5                                  ACT OF 2016
     6  Section 2899-c. Short title.
     7          2899-d  Legislative findings and intent.
     8          2899-e. Definitions.
     9          2899-f. Comprehensive report on public nursing homes.
    10          2899-g. Restriction on divestiture and elimination of services.
    11    §  2899-c.  Short title.  This article shall be known and may be cited
    12  as the "public nursing home protection act of 2016".
    13    § 2899-d. Legislative findings  and  intent.  The  legislature  hereby
    14  finds, determines and declares that:
    15    1.  public  nursing  homes are a critical component to the health care
    16  infrastructure of the state and often represent the  caregiver  of  last
    17  resort  for  many New Yorkers. With the state's population continuing to
    18  age, the demand for public nursing homes is likely to increase over  the
    19  coming years;
    20    2.  as  funding  from  the  federal,  state  and local governments has
    21  decreased over the past several years, many municipalities of the  state
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11152-02-6
        S. 5460--A                          2
     1  have sold, closed, privatized, transferred ownership or otherwise limit-
     2  ed or eliminated publicly available nursing home services; and
     3    3. the continued loss of such public nursing homes may lead to compro-
     4  mised  or inadequate care for many people in need. Therefore, the legis-
     5  lature finds that it shall be the goal  of  the  state  to  ensure  that
     6  public  nursing  homes remain available for the future care of people in
     7  need.
     8    § 2899-e. Definitions. As used in this article:
     9    1. "Municipality" shall  mean  any  county,  except  a  county  wholly
    10  contained  within  a  city  having  a  population of one million or more
    11  persons.
    12    2. "Public nursing home" shall mean any nursing  home  or  residential
    13  health  care  facility  established  under  article twenty-eight of this
    14  chapter that is operated or owned by a municipality.
    15    § 2899-f. Comprehensive report on public nursing homes. 1. The commis-
    16  sioner, in conjunction with the director of the division of the  budget,
    17  shall  study and issue a comprehensive report on public nursing homes in
    18  the state. Such study and report carried out pursuant  to  this  section
    19  shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
    20    (a)  The  current  and  expected  future financial condition of public
    21  nursing homes including, but not limited to:
    22    (1) the current and expected future support  from  medicaid,  and  the
    23  state and local governments,
    24    (2) the current and expected future impact of the state's new medicaid
    25  reimbursement methodology for nursing homes,
    26    (3)  financial support trends from local governments over the previous
    27  twenty years,
    28    (4) additional aid from state or local governments, and
    29    (5) the availability of any grants to public nursing homes;
    30    (b) The current usage of public  nursing  homes,  including,  but  not
    31  limited to:
    32    (1) the demographic profile of public nursing home residents;
    33    (2) the average bed count per facility,
    34    (3) the most demanded services per facility, and
    35    (4)  specialty  services  that  are not provided by non-public nursing
    36  homes;
    37    (c) The expected future need for public nursing homes  including,  but
    38  not limited to:
    39    (1) the expected future demand for various services, and
    40    (2)  projections  of  facility  populations  aged sixty-five or older,
    41  seventy-five or older, and eighty-five  or  older  for  the  next  three
    42  decades; and
    43    (d)  The effects that the closure, sale, transfer, divestment, defund-
    44  ing, downsizing or reassignment of ownership of a  public  nursing  home
    45  from  a  municipality  to  any  other person or entity would have on the
    46  residents of such facility including, but not limited to, (1) the impact
    47  on the physical and mental health of the residents, (2) the availability
    48  of services for hard-to-place residents, and (3) the  impact  on  family
    49  members of residents.
    50    2.  The  commissioner may request and shall receive from any agency in
    51  the state, and from any subdivision, department, board, bureau,  commis-
    52  sion,  office,  agency,  or other instrumentality of the state or of any
    53  political subdivision thereof  such  information,  assistance  and  data
    54  deemed  necessary  or  desirable to effectuate the purposes set forth in
    55  this section. Such information received by  the  commissioner  shall  be
    56  subject  to the same requirements and confidentiality and limitations on
        S. 5460--A                          3
     1  use, if any, as are applicable to the department's use of such  informa-
     2  tion.
     3    3.  The commissioner shall make a report of his or her findings to the
     4  governor, the temporary president of the  senate,  the  speaker  of  the
     5  assembly,  the  minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of
     6  the assembly within one year of the effective date of this article.
     7    § 2899-g. Restriction on  divestiture  and  elimination  of  services.
     8  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no municipality shall close,
     9  sell,  transfer,  divest,  defund,  downsize  or reassign ownership of a
    10  public nursing home until one year after  the  commissioner  shall  have
    11  reported  his  or  her findings pursuant to subdivision three of section
    12  twenty-eight hundred ninety-nine-f of this article.
    13    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
    14  deemed repealed 2 years after it shall take effect.