What's happening
This bill directs the health commissioner to create demonstration projects allowing equity investment in residential health care facilities to evaluate impacts on quality and financing.
Why it matters
Explores new funding sources for nursing homes. By allowing equity investors to operate residential health care facilities, the bill aims to attract private capital that could address funding gaps, especially as long-term care is increasingly managed under Medicaid managed care.
Tests impact on care quality and facility improvements. The demonstration projects are specifically designed to measure whether private equity investment leads to better facility conditions, more investment in technology, and improved resident care, using widely recognized quality metrics like rehospitalization rates and staff retention.
Implements oversight and accountability mechanisms. Facilities involved must meet existing operational standards, report on quality indicators and staffing, and participate in a comprehensive state evaluation, which will help determine whether this model supports or undermines patient care and access for vulnerable populations.
Could reshape future regulation of residential health care. The findings from these limited demonstration projects may influence broader policy decisions about the role of private investment in New York’s nursing home sector, potentially leading to permanent changes in how such facilities are financed and managed.
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Who cares
Equity investors
The bill would allow investors to acquire and operate residential health care facilities through limited liability companies in up to two demonstration projects, each involving up to fifteen existing facilities.
Residential health care facility operators
Participating facilities would gain a pathway to equity capital while remaining subject to operating standards and Medicaid admissions regulations.
Nursing home residents and their advocates
The demonstrations would evaluate whether equity investment improves care and quality of life, with reporting on quality indicators, staffing and access to care.
State Department of Health
The commissioner would establish the demonstrations, develop evaluation metrics with participating facilities and report findings to the governor and legislative leaders.
Headline styles
Test Equity in Nursing Homes
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2822
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 23, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to directing the commissioner of health to establish demonstration projects authorizing equity investment in the operation of residential health care facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 2801-a of the public health law is amended by adding a new subdivision 17 to read as follows:
17. (a) The commissioner shall on or before December thirty-first, two thousand seventeen, establish up to two demonstration projects to develop, evaluate and implement an innovative approach to encouraging equity investors to provide needed financial resources for and hold an equity interest as operators of residential health care facilities. One project shall be in the upstate region of the state. The other demonstration project shall be in a downstate region in the state. In anticipation of the financial impact on residential health care facilities from the state's expansion of mandatory managed care to long term care services, the demonstrations shall be designed to promote the development of new sources of capital for the operation of residential health care facilities, and to measure the ability of such investment to positively impact facilities in terms of capital improvements, investment in new technology, and improvement to the quality of care and quality of life for facility residents measured by broadly accepted industry metrics including, but not limited to, those related to reduction in rates of rehospitalizaton, MDS quality indicators, end of life care, medical orders for life-sustaining treatment and nursing facility "culture change" initiatives. The facilities participating in the demonstrations and the commissioner shall mutually develop the appropriate metrics to measure
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03442-01-7
A. 2822 2
such impact which shall serve as the basis for the report to the governor and the legislature required by paragraph (h) of this subdivision.
(b) For purposes of such demonstrations, the commissioner may approve demonstration projects each involving the purchase of up to fifteen existing residential health care facilities which have histories of providing high quality care to residents.
(c) The equity investor shall participate in each facility through the creation of limited liability companies established to operate the residential health care facilities.
(d) The residential health care facilities may be operated by limited liability companies formed pursuant to the limited liability company law, whose members are not natural persons so long as at least one member of such limited liability companies is a natural person of sufficient experience and expertise in delivering high quality nursing and health related care to whom the equity investor has delegated, to the satisfaction of the public health and health planning council, responsibility for the day to day management and operation of the facility.
(e) The provisions of paragraph (b) of subdivision three and paragraph (c) of subdivision four of this section shall not apply to the equity investor or its owners; provided, however, that the public health and health planning council may require commercially reasonable disclosure of the identity of limited liability company members, provided that the number of investors is not greater than thirty-five.
(f) The provisions of paragraphs (e) and (f) of subdivision four of this section shall not apply to residential health care facilities operated pursuant to this subdivision. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a limited liability company from being the sole member of the limited liability companies referred to in paragraph (c) and (d) of this subdivision provided that the former limited liability company or at least one of its members conforms to the requirements of such paragraphs.
(g) Residential health care facilities participating in this demonstration program shall be subject to all operating standards as set forth in this article and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto and shall be subject to any provisions of this chapter for failure to comply with such standards. Additionally, facilities in this demonstration program shall comply with all department regulations pertaining to admissions of Medicaid patients.
(h) No later than two years after the first facility commences operation pursuant to this demonstration program, the commissioner shall provide the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly with a written evaluation of the demonstration programs. Such evaluation shall address the overall effectiveness of the program in providing access to capital investment by residential health care facilities and evaluate the impact private equity investment has on the quality of care as evidenced by staff retention and quality indicators, and access to care for various resident populations.
(i) Residential health care facilities participating in this demonstration program shall submit such quality reports as shall be required and directed by the commissioner, including information on patient care quality indicators, staffing levels and patterns and access to care for various patient populations.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.