2006 Minnesota Statutes

256B.47 NONALLOWABLE COSTS; NOTICE OF INCREASES.
    Subdivision 1. Nonallowable costs. The following costs shall not be recognized as
allowable: (1) political contributions; (2) salaries or expenses of a lobbyist, as defined in section
10A.01, subdivision 21, for lobbying activities; (3) advertising designed to encourage potential
residents to select a particular nursing facility; (4) assessments levied by the commissioner of
health for uncorrected violations; (5) legal and related expenses for unsuccessful challenges
to decisions by governmental agencies; (6) memberships in sports, health or similar social
clubs or organizations; (7) costs incurred for activities directly related to influencing employees
with respect to unionization; and (8) direct and indirect costs of providing services which are
billed separately from the nursing facility's payment rate or pursuant to Minnesota Rules, parts
9500.0750 to 9500.1080. The commissioner shall by rule exclude the costs of any other items not
directly related to the provision of resident care.
    Subd. 2. Notice to residents. (a) No increase in nursing facility rates for private paying
residents shall be effective unless the nursing facility notifies the resident or person responsible
for payment of the increase in writing 30 days before the increase takes effect.
A nursing facility may adjust its rates without giving the notice required by this subdivision
when the purpose of the rate adjustment is to reflect a change in the case-mix classification
of the resident. If the state fails to set rates as required by section 256B.431, subdivision 1,
the time required for giving notice is decreased by the number of days by which the state was
late in setting the rates.
(b) If the state does not set rates by the date required in section 256B.431, subdivision 1,
nursing facilities shall meet the requirement for advance notice by informing the resident or
person responsible for payments, on or before the effective date of the increase, that a rate increase
will be effective on that date. If the exact amount has not yet been determined, the nursing facility
may raise the rates by the amount anticipated to be allowed. Any amounts collected from private
pay residents in excess of the allowable rate must be repaid to private pay residents with interest
at the rate used by the commissioner of revenue for the late payment of taxes and in effect on the
date the rate increase is effective.
    Subd. 3. Allocation of costs. To ensure the avoidance of double payments as required by
section 256B.433, the direct and indirect reporting year costs of providing residents of nursing
facilities that are not hospital attached with therapy services that are billed separately from the
nursing facility payment rate or according to Minnesota Rules, parts 9500.0750 to 9500.1080,
must be determined and deducted from the appropriate cost categories of the annual cost report
as follows:
(a) The costs of wages and salaries for employees providing or participating in providing
and consultants providing services shall be allocated to the therapy service based on direct
identification.
(b) The costs of fringe benefits and payroll taxes relating to the costs in paragraph (a) must
be allocated to the therapy service based on direct identification or the ratio of total costs in
paragraph (a) to the sum of total allowable salaries and the costs in paragraph (a).
(c) The costs of housekeeping, plant operations and maintenance, real estate taxes, special
assessments, and insurance, other than the amounts classified as a fringe benefit, must be
allocated to the therapy service based on the ratio of service area square footage to total facility
square footage.
(d) The costs of bookkeeping and medical records must be allocated to the therapy service
either by the method in paragraph (e) or based on direct identification. Direct identification may
be used if adequate documentation is provided to, and accepted by, the commissioner.
(e) The costs of administrators, bookkeeping, and medical records salaries, except as
provided in paragraph (d), must be allocated to the therapy service based on the ratio of the total
costs in paragraphs (a) to (d) to the sum of total allowable nursing facility costs and the costs in
paragraphs (a) to (d).
(f) The cost of property must be allocated to the therapy service and removed from the
nursing facility's property-related payment rate, based on the ratio of service area square footage
to total facility square footage multiplied by the property-related payment rate.
    Subd. 4. Allocation of costs; hospital-attached facilities. To ensure the avoidance of
double payments as required by section 256B.433, the direct and indirect reporting year costs of
providing therapy services to residents of a hospital-attached nursing facility, when the services
are billed separately from the nursing facility's payment rate or according to Minnesota Rules,
parts 9500.0750 to 9500.1080, must be determined and deducted from the appropriate cost
categories of the annual cost report based on the Medicare step-down as prepared in accordance
with instructions provided by the commissioner.
History: 1976 c 282 s 7; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1977 c 326 s 15,16; 1979 c 35 s 1; 1980 c 570 s 2;
1982 c 424 s 130; 1983 c 199 s 13; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 91-93; 1989 c 282 art 3 s 79; 1992 c 513
art 7 s 136; 1Sp1993 c 1 art 5 s 102; 1999 c 220 s 50; 1Sp2003 c 14 art 3 s 44,45