1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to health; increasing the maximum number of 
  1.3             Medicare swing beds; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.4             section 144.562, subdivision 2. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 144.562, 
  1.7   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY FOR LICENSE CONDITION.] A hospital 
  1.9   is not eligible to receive a license condition for swing beds 
  1.10  unless (1) it either has a licensed bed capacity of less than 50 
  1.11  beds defined in the federal Medicare regulations, Code of 
  1.12  Federal Regulations, title 42, section 482.66, or it has a 
  1.13  licensed bed capacity of 50 beds or more and has swing beds that 
  1.14  were approved for Medicare reimbursement before May 1, 1985, or 
  1.15  it has a licensed bed capacity of less than 65 beds and, as of 
  1.16  the effective date, the available nursing homes within 50 miles 
  1.17  have had occupancy rates of 96 percent or higher in the past two 
  1.18  years; (2) it is located in a rural area as defined in the 
  1.19  federal Medicare regulations, Code of Federal Regulations, title 
  1.20  42, section 482.66; and (3) it agrees to utilize no more 
  1.21  than ~~four hospital beds as swing beds at any one time, except~~ 
  1.22  ~~that the commissioner may approve the utilization of up to three~~ 
  1.23  ~~additional beds at the request of a hospital if no Medicare~~ 
  1.24  ~~certified skilled nursing facility beds are available within 25~~ 
  1.25  ~~miles of that hospital~~ the maximum number of beds as allowed 
  2.1   under the federal Medicare regulations, Code of Federal 
  2.2   Regulations, title 42, section 482.66.