SF 1604

2nd Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human services; requiring the commissioner 
  1.3             of human services to provide rate notices within 
  1.4             certain timelines under certain conditions; requiring 
  1.5             a planned nursing facility closure to be budget 
  1.6             neutral; requiring a recommendation to establish a new 
  1.7             nursing facility reimbursement; amending Minnesota 
  1.8             Statutes 2002, sections 256B.431, subdivision 10; 
  1.9             256B.437, subdivision 3; proposing coding for new law 
  1.10            in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 256B. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 256B.431, 
  1.13  subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subd. 10.  [PROPERTY RATE ADJUSTMENTS AND CONSTRUCTION 
  1.15  PROJECTS.] A nursing facility's request for a property-related 
  1.16  payment rate adjustment and the related supporting documentation 
  1.17  of project construction cost information must be submitted to 
  1.18  the commissioner within 60 days after the construction project's 
  1.19  completion date to be considered eligible for a property-related 
  1.20  payment rate adjustment.  The commissioner shall provide a rate 
  1.21  notice reflecting the allowable costs within 60 days after 
  1.22  receiving all the necessary information to compute the rate 
  1.23  adjustment.  No sooner than the effective date of the rate 
  1.24  adjustment for the building project, a nursing facility may 
  1.25  adjust its rates by the amount anticipated to be allowed.  Any 
  1.26  amounts collected from private pay residents in excess of the 
  1.27  allowable rate must be repaid to private pay residents with 
  1.28  interest at the rate used by the commissioner of revenue for the 
  2.1   late payment of taxes and in effect on the date the rate 
  2.2   increase is effective.  Construction projects with completion 
  2.3   dates within one year of the completion date associated with the 
  2.4   property rate adjustment request and phased projects with 
  2.5   project completion dates within three years of the last phase of 
  2.6   the phased project must be aggregated for purposes of the 
  2.7   minimum thresholds in subdivisions 16 and 17, and the maximum 
  2.8   threshold in section 144A.071, subdivision 2.  "Construction 
  2.9   project" and "project construction costs" have the meanings 
  2.10  given them in Minnesota Statutes, section 144A.071, subdivision 
  2.11  1a. 
  2.12     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 256B.437, 
  2.13  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.14     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATIONS FOR PLANNED CLOSURE OF NURSING 
  2.15  FACILITIES.] (a) By August 15, 2001, the commissioner of human 
  2.16  services shall implement and announce a program for closure or 
  2.17  partial closure of nursing facilities.  Names and identifying 
  2.18  information provided in response to the announcement shall 
  2.19  remain private unless approved, according to the timelines 
  2.20  established in the plan.  The announcement must specify: 
  2.21     (1) the criteria in subdivision 4 that will be used by the 
  2.22  commissioner to approve or reject applications; 
  2.23     (2) the information that must accompany an application; and 
  2.24     (3) that applications may combine planned closure rate 
  2.25  adjustments with moratorium exception funding, in which case a 
  2.26  single application may serve both purposes. 
  2.27  Between August 1, 2001, and June 30, 2003, the commissioner may 
  2.28  approve planned closures of up to 5,140 nursing facility beds, 
  2.29  less the number of beds delicensed in facilities during the same 
  2.30  time period without approved closure plans or that have notified 
  2.31  the commissioner of health of their intent to close without an 
  2.32  approved closure plan.  Beginning July 1, 2004, the commissioner 
  2.33  may negotiate a planned closure for nursing facilities providing 
  2.34  the proposal has no cost to the state. 
  2.35     (b) A facility or facilities reimbursed under section 
  2.36  256B.431 or 256B.434 with a closure plan approved by the 
  3.1   commissioner under subdivision 5 may assign a planned closure 
  3.2   rate adjustment to another facility or facilities that are not 
  3.3   closing or in the case of a partial closure, to the facility 
  3.4   undertaking the partial closure.  A facility may also elect to 
  3.5   have a planned closure rate adjustment shared equally by the 
  3.6   five nursing facilities with the lowest total operating payment 
  3.7   rates in the state development region designated under section 
  3.8   462.385, in which the facility that is closing is located.  The 
  3.9   planned closure rate adjustment must be calculated under 
  3.10  subdivision 6.  Facilities that delicense beds without a closure 
  3.11  plan, or whose closure plan is not approved by the commissioner, 
  3.12  are not eligible to assign a planned closure rate adjustment 
  3.13  under subdivision 6, unless they are delicensing five or fewer 
  3.14  beds, or less than six percent of their total licensed bed 
  3.15  capacity, whichever is greater, are located in a county in the 
  3.16  top three quartiles of beds per 1,000 persons aged 65 or older, 
  3.17  and have not delicensed beds in the prior three months.  
  3.18  Facilities meeting these criteria are eligible to assign the 
  3.19  amount calculated under subdivision 6 to themselves.  If a 
  3.20  facility is delicensing the greater of six or more beds, or six 
  3.21  percent or more of its total licensed bed capacity, and does not 
  3.22  have an approved closure plan or is not eligible for the 
  3.23  adjustment under subdivision 6, the commissioner shall calculate 
  3.24  the amount the facility would have been eligible to assign under 
  3.25  subdivision 6, and shall use this amount to provide equal rate 
  3.26  adjustments to the five nursing facilities with the lowest total 
  3.27  operating payment rates in the state development region 
  3.28  designated under section 462.385, in which the facility that 
  3.29  delicensed beds is located. 
  3.30     (c) To be considered for approval, an application must 
  3.31  include: 
  3.32     (1) a description of the proposed closure plan, which must 
  3.33  include identification of the facility or facilities to receive 
  3.34  a planned closure rate adjustment; 
  3.35     (2) the proposed timetable for any proposed closure, 
  3.36  including the proposed dates for announcement to residents, 
  4.1   commencement of closure, and completion of closure; 
  4.2      (3) if available, the proposed relocation plan for current 
  4.3   residents of any facility designated for closure.  If a 
  4.4   relocation plan is not available, the application must include a 
  4.5   statement agreeing to develop a relocation plan designed to 
  4.6   comply with section 144A.161; 
  4.7      (4) a description of the relationship between the nursing 
  4.8   facility that is proposed for closure and the nursing facility 
  4.9   or facilities proposed to receive the planned closure rate 
  4.10  adjustment.  If these facilities are not under common ownership, 
  4.11  copies of any contracts, purchase agreements, or other documents 
  4.12  establishing a relationship or proposed relationship must be 
  4.13  provided; 
  4.14     (5) documentation, in a format approved by the 
  4.15  commissioner, that all the nursing facilities receiving a 
  4.16  planned closure rate adjustment under the plan have accepted 
  4.17  joint and several liability for recovery of overpayments under 
  4.18  section 256B.0641, subdivision 2, for the facilities designated 
  4.19  for closure under the plan; and 
  4.20     (6) an explanation of how the application coordinates with 
  4.21  planning efforts under subdivision 2.  If the planning group 
  4.22  does not support a level of nursing facility closures that the 
  4.23  commissioner considers to be reasonable, the commissioner may 
  4.24  approve a planned closure proposal without its support. 
  4.25     (d) The application must address the criteria listed in 
  4.26  subdivision 4. 
  4.27     Sec. 3.  [256B.440] [RECOMMENDATION TO ESTABLISH NEW 
  4.28  NURSING FACILITY REIMBURSEMENT SYSTEM.] 
  4.29     Subdivision 1.  [IN GENERAL.] The commissioner shall 
  4.30  present to the legislature, by January 15, 2005, a 
  4.31  recommendation to establish a new nursing facility reimbursement 
  4.32  system that provides facility-specific, prospective payment 
  4.33  rates for nursing facilities participating in the medical 
  4.34  assistance program.  The rates shall be determined using a 
  4.35  statistical and cost report filed by each nursing facility.  The 
  4.36  total payment rate shall be composed of four rate components: 
  5.1   direct-care services, support services, external fixed, and 
  5.2   property-related costs.  The payment rate shall be derived from 
  5.3   statistical measures of actual costs incurred in the operation 
  5.4   of nursing facilities.  From this cost basis, the components of 
  5.5   the total payment rate shall be adjusted for quality of services 
  5.6   provided, actual costs of operation of each facility, geographic 
  5.7   variation in labor costs, rental value, and resident acuity. 
  5.8      Subd. 2.  [RECOMMENDATION FOR ESTABLISHMENT BEGINNING 
  5.9   OCTOBER 1, 2006.] The recommendation in subdivision 1 shall 
  5.10  provide for the establishment of all or part of a nursing 
  5.11  facility's rates under the new nursing facility reimbursement 
  5.12  system beginning on October 1, 2006.  Rates shall be rebased 
  5.13  annually.  Effective January 1, 2005, each cost reporting year 
  5.14  shall begin on January 1 and end on the following December 31.  
  5.15  A cost report shall be filed by each nursing facility by March 
  5.16  31.  Notice of rates shall be distributed by August 1 and the 
  5.17  rates shall go into effect on October 1 for one year. 
  5.18     Subd. 3.  [REPORTING OF BASELINE STATISTICAL AND COST 
  5.19  INFORMATION.] (a) Nursing facilities shall file a baseline 
  5.20  statistical and cost report on or before August 31, 2004, for 
  5.21  the reporting period ending either September 30, 2003, or 
  5.22  December 31, 2003.  After July 1, 2004, the report required 
  5.23  under Minnesota Rules, part 9549.0041, subpart 1, shall no 
  5.24  longer be required.  For the period between January 1, 2004, and 
  5.25  December 31, 2004, the commissioner may collect statistical and 
  5.26  cost information from facilities in no greater detail than items 
  5.27  collected from facilities under section 256B.431 or section 
  5.28  256B.434, whichever is applicable, for the year ending September 
  5.29  30, 2003. 
  5.30     (b) All nursing facilities shall provide information to the 
  5.31  commissioner in the form and manner specified by the 
  5.32  commissioner.  The commissioner shall consult with stakeholders 
  5.33  in developing the baseline statistical and cost report that will 
  5.34  be used to collect all data necessary to develop and model the 
  5.35  new nursing facility reimbursement system. 
  5.36     (c) Nursing facilities shall report as costs of the nursing 
  6.1   facility only costs directly related to the operation of the 
  6.2   nursing facility.  The facility shall not include costs that are 
  6.3   separately reimbursed by residents, medical assistance, or other 
  6.4   payors.  The commissioner may grant to facilities one extension 
  6.5   of up to ten days for the filing of this report, if the 
  6.6   extension is requested by August 1.  The commissioner may 
  6.7   require facilities to submit separately, in the form and manner 
  6.8   specified by the commissioner, documentation of statistical and 
  6.9   cost information included in the report, in order to ensure 
  6.10  accuracy in modeling payment rates and to perform audit and 
  6.11  appeal review functions under this section.  Facilities shall 
  6.12  retain all records necessary to document statistical and cost 
  6.13  information provided in the report for a period of no less than 
  6.14  seven years. 
  6.15     (d) The commissioner may reject a report filed by a nursing 
  6.16  facility under this section if the commissioner determines that 
  6.17  the report has been filed in a form that is incomplete or 
  6.18  inaccurate and the information is insufficient to model accurate 
  6.19  payment rates.  If a report is rejected or is not submitted in a 
  6.20  timely manner, the commissioner shall reduce payments to a 
  6.21  nursing facility to 85 percent of amounts due until the 
  6.22  information is completely and accurately filed.  The 
  6.23  reinstatement of withheld payments shall be retroactive for no 
  6.24  more than 90 days.  A nursing facility whose report is rejected 
  6.25  shall be given notice of the rejection, the reasons for the 
  6.26  rejection, and an opportunity to correct the report prior to any 
  6.27  payment reduction.  A nursing facility that does not submit a 
  6.28  report shall be given a prior written notice of the payment 
  6.29  reduction. 
  6.30     (e) The commissioner shall use the baseline statistical and 
  6.31  cost report data to model and simulate the new nursing facility 
  6.32  reimbursement system.  Modeling shall be done using both budget 
  6.33  neutrality and additional funding assumptions. 
  6.34     (f) The data set in which statistical and cost reports are 
  6.35  compiled shall, upon request, be released by the commissioner, 
  6.36  once it has been used for statistical analyses for purposes of 
  7.1   modeling rate setting. 
  7.2      (g) The commissioner shall determine, in consultation with 
  7.3   stakeholders and experts, methods that shall be used to 
  7.4   integrate quality measures into the new nursing facility 
  7.5   reimbursement system.  For the modeling and simulations of the 
  7.6   baseline data, the quality measures shall include, at a minimum: 
  7.7      (1) direct care hours per standardized resident day; 
  7.8      (2) staff turnover; 
  7.9      (3) staff retention; 
  7.10     (4) use of pool staff; 
  7.11     (5) proportion of beds in single bed rooms; 
  7.12     (6) quality indicators from the minimum data set; and 
  7.13     (7) survey deficiencies. 
  7.14  If data analysis of the modeling and simulations indicates that 
  7.15  revisions, deletions, or additional indicators are needed, those 
  7.16  modifications shall be made prior to the initial rate year.  The 
  7.17  quality measures used to determine a component of the payment 
  7.18  rates shall be established for a rate year using data submitted 
  7.19  in the statistical and cost report from the associated reporting 
  7.20  year, and using data from other sources related to the reporting 
  7.21  year. 
  7.22     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  7.23  following final enactment.