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History
- Referred to social services
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to payments for residential health care facilities in Erie county and Niagara county
In Senate Committee · Health · Sponsor William T. Stachowski
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:A10609
Title of bill
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to payments for residential health care facilities in Erie county and Niagara county
Purpose
This bill would increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate for nursing homes in Western New York, in an effort to prevent the closure of additional facilities and the loss of more jobs.
Summary of provisions
Section I: This legislation will create a special Medicaid reimbursement rate 40% higher than what is called for in previ- ous regulations, and will apply to facilities in Erie or Niagara County that have at least 80% Medicaid payor mix, are hospital affiliated, non-for-profit, and create or retain at least 120 jobs.
Section II: effective date.
Justification
Western New York is at a disadvantage because the rate at which Medicaid reimburses nursing homes is far lower than the rates for the rest of the state. This has caused a situation where the nursing homes that have high percentages of patients receiving Medicaid are being forced to shut down and lay off workers. In the past two years, three nursing homes have closed in Buffalo, resulting in the loss of over 600 jobs. A fourth nursing home has submitted plans for closure and several more are on the brink of bankruptcy. This legislation is neces- sary to avoid significant loss of jobs and closure of facilities in urban areas where the Medicaid percentage of residents in these nursing homes is very high.
Legislative history
None.
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.