Bill Text: NY A09892 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Authorizes assisted living programs to increase the number of beds within an existing program for any applicant that can satisfactorily demonstrate the public need.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-08 - print number 9892a [A09892 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A09892-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          9892
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 20, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Health
        AN ACT to amend the social services  law,  in  relation  to  authorizing
          assisted  living  program  beds  for any applicant that satisfactorily
          demonstrates the public need for such beds
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. Subdivision 3 of section 461-l of the social services law,
     2  as added by chapter 165 of the laws of 1991, subparagraph (iii) of para-
     3  graph (a) as amended by chapter 438 of the laws of 1994, paragraphs (b),
     4  (c), (e) and (f) as amended by section 82 of part A of chapter 58 of the
     5  laws of 2010, paragraph (d) as amended by chapter 591  of  the  laws  of
     6  1999, paragraph (g) as amended by chapter 397 of the laws of 2012, para-
     7  graph  (h) as added by section 20 of part B of chapter 58 of the laws of
     8  2007, paragraph (i) as amended by section 67 of part C of chapter 60  of
     9  the  laws of 2014, and paragraph (j) as added by section 70 of part A of
    10  chapter 56 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
    11    3. Assisted living program approval. (a) An eligible applicant propos-
    12  ing to operate an assisted living program or increase the number of beds
    13  within an existing program shall submit an application to  the  [depart-
    14  ment. Upon receipt, the department shall transmit a copy of the applica-
    15  tion and accompanying documents to the] department of health.  [Such] To
    16  the extent applicable, such application shall be in a format and a quan-
    17  tity  determined  by the department of health and shall include, but not
    18  be limited to:
    19    (i) a copy of or an application for an adult care  facility  operating
    20  certificate;
    21    (ii)  a  copy  of  or  an  application for a home care services agency
    22  license or a copy of a certificate for a certified home health agency or
    23  authorization as a long term home health care program;
    24    (iii) a copy of a proposed contract with a social services district or
    25  in a social services district with a population of one million or  more,
    26  a  copy  of a proposed contract with the social services district or the
    27  department;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14738-01-8
        A. 9892                             2
     1    (iv) if the applicant is not a long term home health care  program  or
     2  certified  home health agency, a copy of a proposed contract with a long
     3  term home health care program or certified home health  agency  for  the
     4  provisions  of  services  in  accordance  with article thirty-six of the
     5  public health law; and
     6    (v)  a  detailed description of the proposed program including budget,
     7  staffing and services.
     8    (b) If the application for the proposed program includes  an  applica-
     9  tion  for  licensure  as  a  home care service agency, the department of
    10  health shall forward the application for the proposed program and accom-
    11  panying documents to the public health and health planning  council  for
    12  its  written approval in accordance with the provisions of section thir-
    13  ty-six hundred five of the public health law.
    14    (c) An application  for  an  assisted  living  program  shall  not  be
    15  approved unless the commissioner is satisfied as to:
    16    (i)  the  character,  competence  and standing in the community of the
    17  operator of the adult care facility;
    18    (ii) the financial responsibility of the operator of  the  adult  care
    19  facility;
    20    (iii)  that  the  buildings,  equipment,  staff, standards of care and
    21  records of the adult care facility  to  be  employed  in  the  operation
    22  comply with applicable law, rule and regulation;
    23    (iv)  the  commissioner  of health is satisfied that the licensed home
    24  care agency has received the written approval of the public  health  and
    25  health planning council as required by paragraph (b) of this subdivision
    26  and  the  equipment,  personnel, rules, standards of care, and home care
    27  services provided by the licensed home care agency  and  certified  home
    28  health agency or long term home health care program are fit and adequate
    29  and will be provided in the manner required by article thirty-six of the
    30  public health law and the rules and regulations thereunder; and
    31    (v)  [the commissioner and] the commissioner of health [are] is satis-
    32  fied as to the public need for the assisted living  program  beds  being
    33  proposed  after  giving  consideration  to the specific population being
    34  served and relative concentration of assisted  living  program  beds  in
    35  existence  in  the  area  to  be  served.  In approving applications for
    36  assisted living program beds, the  commissioner  of  health  shall  give
    37  priority to applicants which:
    38    (A)  are  an existing assisted living provider who is seeking approval
    39  for less than ten beds under the department's expedited  review  process
    40  and whose average occupancy over the prior twelve month period is great-
    41  er than ninety percent;
    42    (B)  are in counties where there are two or fewer operational assisted
    43  living program providers and where existing providers in  such  counties
    44  have  occupancy  over the prior twelve month period in excess of eighty-
    45  five percent; or
    46    (C) are in counties where existing assisted living program beds  which
    47  provide services predominantly to individuals over the age of sixty-five
    48  have  an  average  occupancy  in  excess of eighty-five percent over the
    49  prior twelve month period.
    50    (d) The department of health shall not approve an application  for  an
    51  assisted  living  program or an expansion of an existing program for any
    52  eligible applicant who does not meet the requirements of  this  article,
    53  including  but  not  limited to, an eligible applicant who is already or
    54  within the past ten years has been an incorporator,  director,  sponsor,
    55  principal  stockholder, member or owner of any adult care facility which
    56  has been issued an operating certificate by the board or the department,
        A. 9892                             3
     1  or of a halfway house, hostel or other residential facility or  institu-
     2  tion  for  the care, custody or treatment of the mentally disabled which
     3  is subject to approval by an office of the department of mental hygiene,
     4  or  of  any  residential  health  care  facility  or home care agency as
     5  defined in the public health law, unless [the department, in conjunction
     6  with the department of health,] it finds by substantial evidence  as  to
     7  each  such  applicant that a substantially consistent high level of care
     8  has been rendered in each such facility or institution under which  such
     9  person  is  or was affiliated. For the purposes of this paragraph, there
    10  may be a finding that a substantially consistent high level of care  has
    11  been  rendered  despite  a  record of violations of applicable rules and
    12  regulations, if such violations (i) did not threaten to directly  affect
    13  the  health, safety or welfare of any patient or resident, and (ii) were
    14  promptly corrected and not recurrent.
    15    (e) The  commissioner  of  health  shall  provide  written  notice  of
    16  approval or disapproval of portions of the proposed application concern-
    17  ing  a  licensed  home care agency, certified home health agency or long
    18  term home health care program, and, where applicable, of the approval or
    19  disapproval of the public health and health  planning  council  [to  the
    20  commissioner].  If  an application receives all the necessary approvals,
    21  the commissioner of health shall notify the applicant  in  writing.  The
    22  commissioner's  written approval shall constitute authorization to oper-
    23  ate an assisted living program.
    24    (f) No assisted living program may be  operated  without  the  written
    25  approval of [the department,] the department of health and, where appli-
    26  cable, the public health and health planning council.
    27    (g)  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of law to the contrary, any
    28  assisted living program having less  than  seventy-five  authorized  bed
    29  slots,  located  in  a county with a population of more than one hundred
    30  ten thousand and less than one hundred fifty thousand persons based upon
    31  the decennial federal census for the year two thousand, and which at any
    32  point in time is unable to accommodate  individuals  awaiting  placement
    33  into  the  assisted  living program, shall be authorized to increase the
    34  number of assisted living beds available for a specified period of  time
    35  as  part  of  a  demonstration  program  by  up to thirty percent of its
    36  approved bed level; provided, however, that such program shall otherwise
    37  satisfy all other assisted living program requirements as set  forth  in
    38  this section. In addition, any program which receives such authorization
    39  and  which  at  any  point  on or after July first, two thousand five is
    40  unable to accommodate individuals awaiting placement into  the  assisted
    41  program,  shall be authorized to further increase the number of assisted
    42  living beds available as part of this demonstration  program  by  up  to
    43  twenty-five  percent  of  its  bed  level as of July first, two thousand
    44  five; provided, however, that such program shall otherwise  satisfy  all
    45  other assisted living program requirements as set forth in this section.
    46    (h)  The  commissioner  is authorized to add one thousand five hundred
    47  assisted living program beds to the  gross  number  of  assisted  living
    48  program  beds  having been determined to be available as of April first,
    49  two thousand seven.
    50    (i) (a) The commissioner of health is authorized  to  add  up  to  six
    51  thousand  assisted  living  program beds to the gross number of assisted
    52  living program beds having been determined to be available as  of  April
    53  first, two thousand nine. Nothing herein shall be interpreted as prohib-
    54  iting  any  eligible  applicant  from  submitting an application for any
    55  assisted living program bed so added. The commissioner of  health  shall
    56  not  be required to review on a comparative basis applications submitted
        A. 9892                             4
     1  for assisted living program beds made available  under  this  paragraph.
     2  The  commissioner  of  health  shall  only authorize the addition of six
     3  thousand beds pursuant to a seven year  plan  ending  prior  to  January
     4  first, two thousand seventeen.
     5    (b)  The commissioner of health shall provide an annual written report
     6  to the chair of the senate standing committee on health and the chair of
     7  the assembly health committee no later than January first of each  year.
     8  Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the number of assisted
     9  living  program  beds made available pursuant to this section by county,
    10  the total number of assisted living program beds by county,  the  number
    11  of vacant assisted living program beds by county, and any other informa-
    12  tion deemed necessary and appropriate.
    13    (j)  The  commissioner of health is authorized to add up to four thou-
    14  sand five hundred assisted living program beds to the  gross  number  of
    15  assisted  living  program beds having been determined to be available as
    16  of April first, two thousand twelve. Applicants eligible  to  submit  an
    17  application  under this paragraph shall be limited to adult homes estab-
    18  lished pursuant to section four hundred sixty-one-b  of  this  [article]
    19  title  with,  as  of  September  first, two thousand twelve, a certified
    20  capacity of eighty beds or more in which twenty-five percent or more  of
    21  the  resident  population  are  persons  with  serious mental illness as
    22  defined in regulations promulgated by the commissioner  of  health.  The
    23  commissioner  of health shall not be required to review on a comparative
    24  basis applications submitted  for  assisted  living  program  beds  made
    25  available under this paragraph.
    26    (k)  (i)  For periods on and after April first, two thousand eighteen,
    27  the commissioner of health is authorized to issue  up  to  one  thousand
    28  assisted living program beds;
    29    (ii)  For  periods  on and after April first, two thousand twenty, the
    30  commissioner of health is authorized to issue up to  an  additional  one
    31  thousand assisted living program beds;
    32    (iii)  For  periods on and after April first, two thousand twenty-two,
    33  the commissioner of  health  is  authorized  to  issue  assisted  living
    34  program beds for any eligible applicant that satisfactorily demonstrates
    35  the  public  need  for  such beds in the area to be served and meets all
    36  other applicable requirements of this section. Demonstrated public  need
    37  shall be determined on a case by case basis whenever the commissioner is
    38  satisfied  public  need  exists  at the time and place and under circum-
    39  stances proposed by the applicant;  provided,  however,  the  prior  bed
    40  authorizations in this paragraph and paragraphs (h), (i) and (j) of this
    41  subdivision shall continue in full force and effect.
    42    (l)  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of law to the contrary, the
    43  department of health shall develop  an  expedited  review  and  approval
    44  process  for  applications for up to nine additional beds to an existing
    45  assisted living program  qualified  as  being  in  good  standing  under
    46  section  four  hundred  sixty-one-b of this title. In no event shall the
    47  review by the department of health of an application under the expedited
    48  approval process exceed ninety days.
    49    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.