1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; requiring efforts to seek certain 
  1.3             waivers; defining subacute care; proposing coding for 
  1.4             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 144. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [144.6505] [SUBACUTE CARE WAIVERS.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [SUBACUTE CARE; WAIVER FROM STATE AND 
  1.8   FEDERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS.] The commissioners of health and 
  1.9   human services shall work with providers to examine state and 
  1.10  federal rules and regulations governing the provision of care in 
  1.11  nursing facilities and apply for federal waivers and pursue 
  1.12  state law changes to any impediments to the provision of 
  1.13  subacute care in skilled nursing facilities in order to assure 
  1.14  that subacute care occurs in the most cost-effective setting 
  1.15  available. 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [DEFINITION.] For the purpose of this section, 
  1.17  "subacute care" means comprehensive inpatient care designed for 
  1.18  someone who has an acute illness, injury, or exacerbation of a 
  1.19  disease process.  Subacute care includes goal-oriented treatment 
  1.20  rendered immediately after, or instead of, acute hospitalization 
  1.21  with the goal of transitioning patients towards increased 
  1.22  independence or lower acuity level in a cost-effective 
  1.23  environment, to treat one or more specific active complex 
  1.24  medical conditions or to administer one or more technically 
  1.25  complex treatments, in the context of a patient's underlying 
  2.1   long-term conditions and overall situation. 
  2.2      Subacute care does not generally depend heavily on high 
  2.3   technology monitoring or complex diagnostic procedures.  
  2.4   Subacute care requires the coordinated services of an 
  2.5   interdisciplinary team including physicians, nurses, and other 
  2.6   relevant professional disciplines, who are trained and 
  2.7   knowledgeable to assess and manage these specific conditions and 
  2.8   perform the necessary procedures.  Subacute care is provided as 
  2.9   a part of a specifically defined program, regardless of the site.
  2.10  Subacute care includes more intensive care than traditional 
  2.11  nursing facility care and less intensive care than acute care 
  2.12  and can be provided in either an acute or skilled nursing 
  2.13  facility.  Subacute care requires recurrent patient assessment 
  2.14  on a daily to weekly basis and review of the clinical course and 
  2.15  treatment plan for a limited time period ranging from several 
  2.16  days to several months, until the condition is stabilized or a 
  2.17  predetermined treatment course is completed.