2006 Minnesota Statutes

256B.436 VOLUNTARY CLOSURES; PLANNING.
    Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) "Closure" means the voluntary cessation of operations of
a nursing facility and voluntary delicensure and decertification of all nursing facility beds of
the nursing facility.
(b) "Commencement of closure" means the date on which the commissioner of health is
notified of a planned closure in accordance with an approved closure plan.
(c) "Completion of closure" means the date on which the final resident of the nursing facility
or nursing facilities designated for closure in an approved closure plan is discharged from the
facility or facilities.
(d) "Closure plan" means a plan to close one or more nursing facilities and reallocate the
resulting savings to provide special rate adjustments at other facilities.
(e) "Interim closure payments" means the medical assistance payments that may be made to
a nursing facility designated for closure in an approved plan under this section.
(f) "Phased plan" means a closure plan affecting more than one nursing facility undergoing
closure that is commenced and completed in phases.
(g) "Special rate adjustment" means an increase in a nursing facility's operating rates under
this section.
(h) "Standardized resident days" means the standardized resident days as calculated under
Minnesota Rules, part 9549.0054, subpart 2, based on the resident days in each resident class for
the most recent reporting period required to be reported to the commissioner.
    Subd. 2. Proposal for a closure plan. (a) One or more nursing facilities that are owned or
operated by a nonprofit corporation owning or operating more than 22 nursing facilities licensed
in the state of Minnesota may submit to the commissioner a proposal for a closure plan under this
section. Between February 25, 2000, and June 30, 2001, the commissioner may negotiate phased
plans for closure of up to seven nursing facilities.
(b) A facility or facilities reimbursed under section 256B.431 or 256B.434 with a closure
plan approved by the commissioner under subdivision 4 are eligible for the following payments:
(1) facilities designated for closure are eligible for interim closure payments under
subdivision 5; and
(2) facilities that remain open are eligible for a special rate adjustment.
(c) To be considered for approval, a proposal must include the following:
(1) a description of the proposed closure plan, which shall include identification of the
facility or facilities to receive a special rate adjustment, the amount and timing of a special rate
adjustment proposed for each facility for the case mix level "A" operating rate, the standardized
resident days for each facility for which a special rate adjustment is proposed, and the effective
date for each special rate adjustment. The actual special rate adjustment for a facility shall be
allocated proportionately to the various rate per diems included in that facility's operating rate;
(2) an analysis of the projected state medical assistance costs of the closure plan as proposed,
including the estimated costs of the special rate adjustments and estimated resident relocation
costs, including county government costs;
(3) an analysis of the projected state medical assistance savings of the closure plan as
proposed, including any savings projected to result from closure of one or more nursing facilities;
(4) the proposed timetable for any proposed closure, including the proposed dates for
commencement and completion of closure;
(5) the proposed relocation plan for current residents of any facility designated for closure.
The proposed relocation plan must be designed to comply with all applicable state and federal
statutes and regulations, including, but not limited to, Minnesota Rules, parts 4655.6810 to
4655.6830; parts 4658.1600 to 4658.1690; and parts 9546.0010 to 9546.0060; and
(6) documentation, in a format approved by the commissioner, that all the nursing facilities
receiving a special rate adjustment under the plan have accepted joint and several liability for
recovery of overpayments under section 256B.0641, subdivision 2, for the facilities designated
for closure under the plan.
    Subd. 3. Phased closure plans. A proposal for a phased plan may include more than one
closure, each of which must meet the requirements of this section and each of which may be
implemented in phases at different times. As part of a phased plan, a nursing facility may receive
a special rate adjustment under more than one phase of the plan, and the cost savings from the
closure of a nursing facility designated for closure under the plan may be applied as an offset
to the subsequent costs of more than one phase of the plan. If a facility is proposed to receive a
special rate adjustment or provide cost savings under more than one phase of a plan, the proposal
must describe the special rate adjustments or cost savings in each of the affected phases of the
plan. Review and approval of a phased plan under subdivision 4 shall apply to all phases of
the plan as proposed.
    Subd. 4. Review and approval of proposals. (a) The commissioner may grant interim
closure payments or special rate adjustments for a nursing facility or facilities according to an
approved plan that satisfies the requirements of this section. The commissioner shall not approve
a proposal unless the commissioner determines that projected state savings of the plan equal or
exceed projected state and county government costs, including facility costs during the closure
period, the estimated costs of special rate adjustments, estimated resident relocation costs, the
cost of services to relocated residents, and state agency administrative costs directly related to
the accomplishment of duties specified in this subdivision relative to that proposal. To achieve
cost neutrality costs may only be offset against savings that occur within the same fiscal year. For
purposes of a phased plan, the requirement that costs must not exceed savings applies to both the
aggregate costs and savings of the plan and to each phase of the plan. A special rate adjustment
under this section shall be effective no earlier than the first day of the month following completion
of closure of all facilities designated for closure under the plan. For purposes of a phased plan, the
special rate adjustment for each phase shall be effective no earlier than the first day of the month
following completion of closure of all facilities designated for closure in that phase of the plan.
No special rate adjustment under this section shall take effect prior to July 1, 2000.
(b) Upon receipt of a proposal for a closure plan, the commissioner shall provide a copy
of the proposal to the commissioner of health. The commissioner of health shall certify to the
commissioner within 30 days whether the proposal, if implemented, will satisfy the requirements
of Minnesota Rules, parts 4655.6810 to 4655.6830, and parts 4658.1600 to 4658.1690. The
commissioner shall not approve a plan under this section unless the commissioner of health has
made the certification required under this paragraph.
(c) The commissioner shall review a proposal for a closure plan to determine whether it
satisfies the requirements of this section. A determination shall be made within 60 days of the date
the proposal is submitted. If the commissioner determines that the proposal does not satisfy the
requirements of this section, or if the commissioner of health does not certify the proposal under
paragraph (b), the applicant shall be provided written notice as soon as practicable specifying the
deficiencies of the proposal. The proposal may be modified and resubmitted for further review
by each commissioner. The commissioner of health shall review a modified proposal within
30 days from the date it is submitted, and the commissioner shall make a final determination
on whether the proposal satisfies the requirements of this section within 60 days of the date
the modified proposal is submitted.
(d) Approval of a closure plan expires 18 months after approval by the commissioner, unless
commencement of closure has occurred at all facilities designated for closure under the plan.
    Subd. 5. Interim closure payments. Instead of payments under section 256B.431 or
256B.434, the commissioner may approve a closure plan under which the commissioner shall:
(1) apply the interim and settle-up rate provisions under Minnesota Rules, part 9549.0057, to
include facilities covered by this section, effective from commencement of closure to completion
of closure;
(2) extend the length of the interim period but not to exceed 12 months;
(3) limit the amount of reimbursable expenses related to the acquisition of new capital assets;
(4) prohibit the acquisition of additional capital debt or refinancing of existing capital debt
unless prior approval is obtained from the commissioner;
(5) establish as the aggregate administrative operating cost limitation for the interim
period the actual aggregate administrative operating costs for the period immediately prior to
commencement of closure that is of the same duration as the interim period;
(6) require the retention of financial and statistical records until the commissioner has audited
the interim period and the settle-up rate;
(7) make aggregate payments under this subdivision for the interim period up to the level
of the aggregate payments for the period immediately prior to commencement of closure that is
of the same duration as the interim period; or
(8) change any other provision to which all parties to the plan agree.
    Subd. 6. Cost savings of closure. For purposes of this section, the calculation of medical
assistance cost savings from the closure of a nursing facility designated for closure under a
closure plan shall be according to the following criteria:
(a) The projected medical assistance savings of the closure of a facility shall be the aggregate
medical assistance payments to the facility for the most recently completed state fiscal year
prior to submission of the proposal, as reflected in the number of resident days of care for each
resident class provided by the facility in that fiscal year, multiplied by the payment rate for each
resident class.
(b) If one or more facilities designated for closure in an approved closure plan are not able
to be closed for any reason, or projection of savings for that closure are otherwise prohibited
under this section, the projected medical assistance savings from that closure may not be offset
against the medical assistance costs of special rate adjustments under the plan. In that event,
the applicant must notify the commissioner in writing and the applicant must either amend its
proposal by reducing the special rate adjustment to reduce the medical assistance cost of the plan
by at least the amount of the medical assistance savings that were projected from the closure of
that facility or withdraw the plan.
(c) No medical assistance savings shall be projected from closure of a nursing facility that is
designated for closure under a closure plan, if the facility is:
(1) subject to adverse licensure action under section 144A.11; or
(2) located in a county with a ratio of nursing facility beds to county residents age 85 and
over that is in the lowest quartile of all counties in the state, at the time the proposal is submitted
or at the commencement of closure.
(d) Medical assistance savings under paragraph (a) shall be recognized for purposes of this
section beginning the first day of the month following the month of completion of closure for
all facilities designated for closure under the plan, or all facilities designated for closure under
that phase for a phased plan.
    Subd. 7. Other rate adjustments. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision 5, facilities
subject to this section remain eligible for any applicable rate adjustments provided under section
256B.431, 256B.434, or any other section.
    Subd. 8. County costs. A portion of the savings estimated under subdivision 4, not to exceed
$75,000 per closing facility, may be transferred from the medical assistance account to the
commissioner to be used for relocation costs incurred by counties.
History: 2000 c 364 s 1; 2001 c 36 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 9 art 5 s 40