STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2705

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 22, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to imposing a nursing
          home purchase moratorium on those who own or have owned failing facil-
          ities

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. The legislature recognizes the importance of holding nurs-
     2  ing homes accountable in order to ensure a high quality  of  care.  This
     3  body  acknowledges  department  of  health  inspections as the method of
     4  holding nursing homes to our state's  standards.  The  legislature  also
     5  recognizes  that  nursing  home  operators  who  receive poor inspection
     6  grades are not meeting our state's standards.
     7    The legislature intends  to  bar  failing  nursing  home  owners  from
     8  acquiring  additional nursing homes in this state until they have demon-
     9  strated an ability to keep their existing facilities up to standard.
    10    § 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new  section  2808-e
    11  to read as follows:
    12    §  2808-e. Nursing home purchasing moratorium. 1.  For the purposes of
    13  this  section,  the  term  "owned  facility"  shall  mean  any  facility
    14  disclosed under subdivisions two and three of this section.
    15    2. Any individual attempting to purchase a nursing home shall disclose
    16  to  the  department which existing medical facilities that individual or
    17  that individual's spouse owns within the state. Additionally, such indi-
    18  vidual shall disclose whether any partnership, corporation, firm, socie-
    19  ty, or other entity of which that individual or that individual's spouse
    20  owns more than ten percent of or by which the individual or  that  indi-
    21  vidual's  spouse  is  employed  owns  existing medical facilities in the
    22  state.
    23    3. Any  partnership,  corporation,  firm,  society,  or  other  entity
    24  attempting  to  purchase a nursing home shall disclose to the department

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01999-01-1

        S. 2705                             2

     1  any ownership of existing  medical  facilities  in  the  state.    Addi-
     2  tionally,  such partnership, corporation, firm, society, or other entity
     3  shall disclose to the department which medical facilities are  owned  by
     4  all  individuals or spouses of individuals who own more than ten percent
     5  of such entity.
     6    4. The department shall review standard  health  inspection  and  life
     7  safety health inspection records for all of an applicant's owned facili-
     8  ties.
     9    5.  In  the  event that one or more of an applicant's owned facilities
    10  has been cited for noncompliance in a standard health inspection or life
    11  safety health inspection, that  applicant  shall  not  be  permitted  to
    12  purchase  a  nursing  home  within the state until the owned facility or
    13  facilities in violation have been proven to be in compliance  for  twen-
    14  ty-four consecutive months.
    15    6.  In  the event that one or more owned facilities has been cited for
    16  noncompliance in a standard health  inspection  or  life  safety  health
    17  inspection  and  the  owning individual, partnership, corporation, firm,
    18  society, or other entity sells the cited owned facility or  relinquishes
    19  its  ownership stake in the cited owned facility, that individual, part-
    20  nership, corporation, firm,  society,  or  other  entity  shall  not  be
    21  permitted  to purchase a nursing home within the state until twenty-four
    22  months have elapsed since the change in ownership status and  the  indi-
    23  vidual  or  firm  pays  to  the department a compliance fee equal to the
    24  amount of fines imposed at the time of citation.
    25    7. All monies collected by the department under the provisions of this
    26  law shall be made available for use by the department for  the  purposes
    27  of executing this law.
    28    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.