Agreements between political subdivisions to operate a nursing home or intermediate care facility

What it does

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, the Department of Health Services administers the Medical Assistance (MA) program to provide health care and long-term care services to MA recipients, who are, generally, low-income, elderly, or disabled people who meet other specific eligibility requirements. A provider of services under MA must accept the MA payment, plus any permitted coinsurance, as payment in full. A provider may not accept, and a third party may not pay a provider, any supplemental payment for a service provided under MA. Further, a facility that is an MA provider may not charge a fee for admission or continued placement of an MA recipient.

This bill provides that if two or more counties, cities, towns, or villages (political subdivisions) create a commission to operate a nursing home and the commission imposes assessments on the participating political subdivisions for the costs of operating the nursing home and providing services to residents, payment of the assessments by the political subdivisions and acceptance of the assessments by the commission do not violate prohibitions against supplementing MA payments or billing a third party for MA services. Under the bill, the commission must satisfy certain conditions, including that the commission is the licensee of the nursing home;

Who's behind it

2 senators are its authors⁠. 1 is a Democrat and 1 is a Republican.

3 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From DHS

Versions and amendments

Every text the Legislature printed for this bill, including proposed changes. Each opens on the Legislature's site.

• Amendment SA1-SB684
• LC Amendment Memo