An Act To Provide Consideration of the Need for Nursing Facility Beds in the Area Where They Are Located before Those Beds Are Lost
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §335, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 2011, c. 424, Pt. B, §15 and affected by Pt. E, §1, is further amended to read:
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §335, sub-§1, ¶F, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 424, Pt. B, §15 and affected by Pt. E, §1, is amended to read:
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §335, sub-§1, ¶G is enacted to read:
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §335, sub-§7, ¶D, as amended by PL 2003, c. 469, Pt. C, §11, is further amended to read:
(1) The impact of the project on total health care expenditures after taking into account, to the extent practical, both the costs and benefits of the project and the competing demands in the local service area and statewide for available resources for health care;
(2) The availability of state funds to cover any increase in state costs associated with utilization of the project's services; and
(3) The likelihood that more effective, more accessible or less costly alternative technologies or methods of service delivery may become available; and
Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §335, sub-§7, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 469, Pt. C, §12, is amended to read:
Sec. 6. 22 MRSA §335, sub-§7, ¶F is enacted to read:
(1) Whether, and the extent to which, the loss or reduction of beds will result in health needs being unmet;
(2) Whether there will be a negative effect on the health status indicators of the population to be served;
(3) Whether, and the extent to which, there will be a negative effect on the economy of the area; and
(4) Whether the individuals occupying beds that are proposed to be relocated are able to access services that are within a reasonable travel distance for family members.
summary
This bill requires the certificate of need process to take into account the effect of the loss of nursing facility beds on the community's health and economy and on family members and the individuals occupying the beds. The existing process examines only the need for new beds in an area where beds have been proposed.