Legislative Session number- 82

Bill Name: HF0376

hf376 Community care options for older adults act providing comprehensive senior
care, and money appropriated. ARTICLE 1 COMMUNITY ACCESS AND SUPPORTS FOR
SENIORS Section 1: Minnesota Statutes 2000 relating to medical assistance
eligibility requirements amended to define income eligibility as one having "an
income up to 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines." Sec. : Minnesota
Statutes 2000 concerning special needs payments amended; Food Stamp allotment
provided; "shelter needy" and "gross income" defined. Sec. 3: "Community,"
"older adult," and "older adult services" defined; community services grants
program created and statement of purpose provided; grant eligibility
requirements provided. Sec. 4: "Eligible nursing home" defined; guidelines
established for allocating and authorizing grants for eligible nursing homes;
grant program evaluation procedure provided. Sec. 5: Medical assistance pilot
project on senior services established and statement of purpose provided;
federal waiver authority and annual report guidelines provided; sunset date for
pilot project established as June 30, . Sec. 6: Senior information source
program defined and established; proposal procedure provided; "qualified
consortium" defined; fiscal requirements for proposal respondents provided;
proposal respondent evaluation procedure defined. Sec. 7: Expansion of bed and
older adult services distribution study initiated; "critical access service
site" defined; guidelines for identification of critical access service sites
and grant request priority provided.ARTICLE 2 CAREGIVER SUPPORTSection 1:
Minnesota Statutes 2000 amended to make employees of licensed nursing facilities
eligible for hospital, medical, and dental benefits. Sec. 2: Minnesota Statutes
2000 amended to prevent "wage increases received by long-term care workers as a
result of direct mandate by the legislature" from being included in annual
income figures for the purpose of determining eligibility. Sec. 3: Minnesota
Statutes 2000 amended to require the commissioner of health to perform
background studies of all individuals providing services in health care
facilities and employed by temporary employment agencies and controlling persons
of temporary employment agencies; agency responsibilities provided. Sec. 4:
Minnesota Statutes 2000 amended to include resident attendants in minimum
staffing requirement counts; federal waiver request deadline changed from May
15, 2000 to July 15, 2000. Sec. 5: "Resident attendant" redefined. Sec. 6:
Qualification requirements for resident attendants as defined in Minnesota
Statutes amended to reflect changes in Sec. 5. Sec. 7: Minnesota Statutes 2000
amended to reflect changes in training and competency standards contained in the
nursing assistant training curriculum. Sec. 8: Health care worker background
check procedure updated to include employees of temporary pool agencies. Sec.
9-11: Minnesota Statutes 2000 amended to include "registrant" with "applicant"
and "license holder" as pertains to notification to subject and license holder
of study results, reconsideration of disqualification situations, and
disqualification situations. Sec. 12: "Commissioner," "temporary employment
agency," and "health care facility" defined. Sec. 13: Registration of temporary
agencies serving health care industry required.Sec 14: Enforcement regulations
for situations involving violation of statutes or rules relating to temporary
employment agencies or for conduct detrimental to the welfare of the consumer
provided. Sec. 15: Injunctive relief procedures clarified. Sec. 16: Subpoena
procedures clarified. Sec. 17: Regulations provided for situations involving
temporary agency employees with prior criminal convictions. Sec. 18: Temporary
employment agency registration procedures provided. Sec. 19: Written temporary
employment agency contract requirements provided. Sec. 20: Duties and authority
of commissioner of health in related situations provide. Sec. 21: Maximum rates
of payment for services provided by a temporary employment agency defined. Sec.
22: Loan forgiveness, grant, tuition waver, and training program for licensed
professional staff established.ARTICLE 3 PAYMENT AND QUALITY SYSTEM REFORM
Section 1: Quality and payment review commission established; rules and
regulations provided. Sec. 2: New operating payment system for nursing
facilities receiving medical assistance payment established; procedures for
determining payment system clarified. Sec. 3: Operating payment rate adjustment
for nursing facilities defined; rental factor, occupancy factor, property rates,
per-bed investment rates, equipment allowances, debt and interest expenses,
building capital allowances, and alternate rate situations included. Sec. 4:
Long-term care revolving fund established. Sec. 5: Regulatory impact review
procedure clarified.ARTICLE 4 INFRASTRUCTURE CONVERSIONSection 1: Minnesota
Statutes 2000 amended to change maximum allowed nursing home construction
expenditures. Sec. 2: Minnesota Statutes 2000 amended to define "technology" as
pertains to nursing homes and health care. Sec. 3-4: Minnesota Statutes 2000
amended to reflect changes indicated in Section 1. Sec. 5: Minnesota Statutes
2000 amended to include technology costs in an analysis of projected costs of a
nursing facility proposal; also amended to allow authorization for expenditures
to carry forward into the following biennium. Sec. 6: Minnesota Statutes 2000
relating to criteria for review of health care facilities amended to exclude the
goals stated in section 144A.31; also amended to include "the extent to which
the project increases the number of private or single bed rooms" as a criterion
for review. Sec. 7: Minnesota Statutes 2000 amended to add a subdivision
providing for the carry forward of appropriated funds. Sec. 8: Minnesota
Statutes 2000 amended to eliminate "authorized under section A.073" from the
definition of the word "conversion." Sec. 9: Minnesota Statutes 2000
establishing exemptions for the moratorium on licensure or certification of new
nursing home beds amended to remove facilities "under contract with the
commissioner under this section" from exemption. Sec. 10: Reimbursement
guidelines for construction projects for alternative payment system nursing
facilities provided. Sec. 11: Conditions defined for a federal waiver of the
cost of a private room for medical assistance recipients; private room incentive
provided. Sec. 12: Nursing home facility conversion program established.ARTICLE
5 QUALITY IMPROVEMENTSection 1: Alternative nursing home survey process defined;
required monitoring visit procedure provided. Sec. 2: Innovations in quality
demonstration grant program established; eligibility requirements
provided.ARTICLE 6 PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITYSection 1: Minnesota Statutes 2000
amended to change definition of an "eligible person" from "an active member of a
public pension plan" to simply "a member of a public pension plan." Sec. 2:
Long-term care partnership program established to provide for the financing of
long-term care; terms defined; eligibility and approval conditions provided.
Sec. 3: Minnesota Statutes 2000 amended to change maximum tax credit allowed per
year from 200 to 500 dollars for married couples and from 100 to dollars for all
other filers.ARTICLE 7 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONSSection 1: Laws 1999 amended to
change state licensure conflict expiration date to 2003. Sec. 2: RepealerARTICLE
8 APPROPRIATIONSSection 1: Community services development grant funds
appropriated. Sec. 2: Transition planning grant funds appropriated. Sec. 3:
Medical assistance pilot project funds appropriated. Sec. 4: Senior information
source program funds appropriated. Sec. 5: Funds appropriated for identification
of critical access service sites. Sec. 6: Tuition assistance program funds
appropriated. Sec. 7: Funds appropriated for loan forgiveness program. Sec. 8:
Quality and payment review commission funds appropriated. Sec. 9: Funds
appropriated to negotiate ventilator dependent rates. Sec. 10: Funds
appropriated for the nursing home moratorium exception process Sec. 11: Nursing
home facility conversion program funds appropriated. Sec. 12: Alternative survey
process funds appropriated. Sec. 13: Provider education funds appropriated. Sec.
14: Quality demonstration grant funds appropriated. Sec. 15: State long-term
care insurance benefit funds appropriated. Sec. 16: Long-term care partnership
program funds appropriated.