Bill Text: NY A00710 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to the closure of nursing homes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 33-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-07-23 - REFERRED TO RULES [A00710 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00710-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         710--A
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. NIOU, ABINANTI, BARRON, CARROLL, COLTON, CUSICK,
          DE LA ROSA, DICKENS, DILAN, GLICK,  GOTTFRIED,  HEVESI,  KIM,  MOSLEY,
          ORTIZ,   PEOPLES-STOKES,  PRETLOW,  QUART,  RICHARDSON,  L. ROSENTHAL,
          SIMON, SIMOTAS, ABBATE, LENTOL,  PHEFFER AMATO,  BLAKE,  SEAWRIGHT  --
          Multi-Sponsored  by  --  M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Health -- reported and referred to the  Committee  on
          Codes  --  reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted to said committee
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the public health law, in relation to the closure of
          nursing homes
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
     2  2827 to read as follows:
     3    § 2827.  Closure of nursing homes. 1. In the event that an operator of
     4  a nursing home elects to close the facility, the following shall apply:
     5    (a) The operator shall notify the department in writing at least nine-
     6  ty days prior to the anticipated date of closure of the nursing home.
     7    (b) The written notice shall include a proposed plan  for  closure  of
     8  the  nursing  home. The plan shall be subject to approval by the commis-
     9  sioner, include timetables for all steps  in  the  closure  process  and
    10  describe the procedures and actions the operator will take to:
    11    (i)  notify  residents of the closure, including provisions for termi-
    12  nation of admission agreements and involuntary discharge;
    13    (ii) assess the needs and preferences of individual residents;
    14    (iii) assist residents in locating  and  transferring  to  appropriate
    15  alternative settings; and
    16    (iv)  maintain  compliance  with these regulations until all residents
    17  have relocated.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02281-02-9
        A. 710--A                           2
     1    (c) Copies of the written notice shall be  concurrently  delivered  to
     2  the  chief  executive  officer  and  the  presiding officer of the local
     3  legislative body of each county, except a county wholly contained within
     4  a city, town or village in which the nursing home is located, the facil-
     5  ity's residents' council and, in a city of a million or more population,
     6  also  to  the  community  board  in  whose  district the nursing home is
     7  located.
     8    (d) If such officer, legislative body or board has cause to suspect or
     9  believe that an operator of a nursing home is electing to close a facil-
    10  ity for reasons other than the health and safety of the residents,  such
    11  officer, legislative body or board may:
    12    (i)  convene  closed or public meetings, upon notice to the department
    13  and the nursing home operator, that must conclude within forty-five days
    14  of the operator's notice;
    15    (ii) examine any information relevant to needs of  the  community  and
    16  the impact of the closure on stakeholders; and
    17    (iii)  recommended  to  the commissioner as to whether the application
    18  for closure should be approved, modified or rejected.
    19    (e) The closure plan shall be made available to the public.
    20    2. (a) The operator shall take no action to  close  the  nursing  home
    21  prior to approval by the commissioner of the plan for closure.
    22    (b)  The operator shall not close the nursing home until all residents
    23  of  the  nursing  home  have  transferred  to  appropriate   alternative
    24  settings.
    25    (c)  The operator shall not increase the amount of any fees or charges
    26  charged to the residents of the nursing home, their  families  or  their
    27  insurance  companies, if any, prior to approval of the plan for closure.
    28  The operator shall not institute any new fees or charges  to  the  resi-
    29  dents  of the nursing home, their families or their insurance companies,
    30  if any, prior to approval of the plan for closure.
    31    (d) The operator shall not accept new residents, admissions, or trans-
    32  fers for the nursing home, after the operator has notified  the  depart-
    33  ment  that  the operator intendeds to close the nursing home, unless (i)
    34  each such new resident, admission  or  transfer  is  notified  prior  to
    35  acceptance  of  the  intended  date  of  closure, or (ii) the operator's
    36  election to close the nursing home has been abandoned.
    37    3. As part of the approval of the closure plan, the  commissioner  and
    38  operator shall:
    39    (a)  create  a  plan for the maintenance, storage and safekeeping, and
    40  ultimate disposition of its patient medical records and provide for  the
    41  transfer  or  access  to  such  records  to the patients, their treating
    42  health care providers, or lawful representatives;
    43    (b) create a plan to insure that arrangements for continued care which
    44  meet each resident's social, emotional and health needs, to be  effectu-
    45  ated sixty days prior to closure;
    46    (c) implement the approved plans and prompt surrender of the operating
    47  certificate upon closure; and
    48    (d)  make  a  full  copy  of such plans available to the public on the
    49  department's website and shall  update  the  posting  should  the  plans
    50  change.
    51    4.  Failure of a nursing home operator to comply with any provision of
    52  this section or the terms of any agreement with or conditions imposed by
    53  the commissioner under this section shall result in  the  imposition  of
    54  penalties under this chapter.
    55    §  2.  This act shall take effect on the first of April after it shall
    56  become a law, and shall apply to all closures of nursing homes occurring
        A. 710--A                           3
     1  on or after such effective date and to all  closures  of  nursing  homes
     2  pending  such effective date. Effective immediately, the commissioner of
     3  health shall make regulations and take other actions  reasonably  neces-
     4  sary to implement this act on that date.