What's happening
This bill establishes special Medicaid rates for nursing homes providing long-term care to individuals returning from incarceration.
Why it matters
Addresses a vulnerable and often overlooked population. By establishing special Medicaid rates for nursing homes that accept individuals returning from incarceration, the bill recognizes the unique health challenges and barriers to care faced by formerly incarcerated people, who frequently have higher rates of chronic illness, disability, and mental health needs.
Creates incentives for nursing homes to admit former inmates. Higher or protected Medicaid reimbursement rates could encourage more facilities to accept these patients, who are sometimes rejected due to perceived administrative burden, stigma, or complex care requirements.
Aims to reduce hospital “bed-blocking” and improve reentry outcomes. Many incarcerated individuals who are seriously ill or elderly are kept in costly and inappropriate settings (such as hospitals or correctional medical wards) after their release date because nursing homes are reluctant to admit them. This bill would help clear such bottlenecks, aiding smoother transitions and potentially reducing recidivism.
Signals a policy shift toward equity and rehabilitation. By specifically identifying the needs of people returning from incarceration in Medicaid law, the bill reflects broader criminal justice and health care reform efforts, acknowledging the importance of supporting reentry and reducing health disparities tied to incarceration.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Medicaid Rate for Parolees' Nursing Care
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 32
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
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.
Special Medicaid Rate for Releasees
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor David Weprin
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2664
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 28, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- 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 applying a special Medicaid rate for releasees in nursing homes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 2-b of section 2808 of the public health law, as added by section 47 of part C of chapter 109 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
(e) For rate periods subsequent to two thousand nine which utilize reported costs from a base year subsequent to two thousand two, the following categories of facilities, as established pursuant to applicable regulations, shall receive rates that are no less than equivalent, as determined by the commissioner, to the rates that were in effect for such facilities on December thirty-first, two thousand six, trended forward for inflation to the applicable rate period: (A) AIDS facilities or discrete AIDS units within facilities, (B) discrete units for residents receiving care in a long term inpatient rehabilitation program for traumatic brain injured persons, (C) discrete units for long term ventilator dependent residents, (D) discrete units providing specialized programs for residents requiring behavioral interventions, [and] (E) facilities or discrete units within facilities that provide extensive nursing, medical, psychological and counseling support services solely to children, and (F) facilities or discrete units within facilities that provide long term nursing or medical services for persons returning from incarceration.
§ 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2-c of section 2808 of the public health law, as added by section 95 of part H of chapter 59 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The non-capital component of the rates for: (i) AIDS facilities or discrete AIDS units within facilities; (ii) discrete units for residents
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08555-01-9
S. 2664 2
receiving care in a long-term inpatient rehabilitation program for traumatic brain injured persons; (iii) discrete units providing specialized programs for residents requiring behavioral interventions; (iv) discrete units for long-term ventilator dependent residents; [and] (v) facilities or discrete units within facilities that provide extensive nursing, medical, psychological and counseling support services solely to children; and (vi) facilities or discrete units within facilities providing long term nursing or medical services for persons returning from incarceration shall reflect the rates in effect for such facilities on January first, two thousand nine, as adjusted for inflation and rate appeals in accordance with applicable statutes, provided, however, that such rates for facilities described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall reflect the application of the provisions of section twelve of part D of chapter fifty-eight of the laws of two thousand nine, and provided further, however, that insofar as such rates reflect trend adjustments for trend factors attributable to the two thousand eight and two thousand nine calendar years the aggregate amount of such trend factor adjustments shall be subject to the provisions of section two of part D of chapter fifty-eight of the laws of two thousand nine, as amended.
§ 3. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to applying a special Medicaid rate for releasees in nursing homes
Purpose
Authorizes a special Medicaid rate for nursing homes that accept elderly releasees from state correctional facilities
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends paragraph (e) of subdivision 2-b of section 2808 of the public health law. Section 2 amends paragraph (c) of subdivision 2-c of section 2808 of the public health law. Section 3 is the effective date.
Justification
Nursing homes and skilled nursing care facilities should accept elderly inmates whose medical conditions requires placement in a nursing home, but it's understandable that such facilities may have some concern about accepting a patient who is being released from a regional medical unit in a state correctional facility. The concern may be related to securi- ty, reputation, or special reentry needs of the individual that may result in additional cost to the home. For these reasons this bill would provide the same enhanced Medicaid rate to such facilities for accepting such releasees as is currently provided when accepting persons with HIV, traumatic brain injury or who require behavioral interventions. This bill does not reward bad behavior by paying a special rate to a facility that would otherwise discriminate against elderly persons because they were convicted of a crime; rather, this bill incentivizes and compen- sates facilities to accept our elderly parolees who are too frail, sick or disabled to be released to anyplace other than a nursing home or skilled nursing facility.
On any given day there are approximately several dozen inmates in regional medical units in state correctional facilities who have completed their terms of incarceration and who have been determined to be safe to release but who continue to be held in prison regional medical units for lack of a nursing home in which to place such person. The Department of Corrections has five regional medical units with beds that cost as much as $260K per year to house an elderly inmate. Inmates often live in these units for years, occupying beds that are needed for other inmates, because we cannot find a nursing home bed for them outside of prison.
State correctional facilities have dozens of inmates in their 80's and some in their early 90's. These facilities have units for inmates suffering from Alzheimer's disease, units for inmates who are on daily dialysis, units for wheelchair-bound inmates, and other specialized units for inmates who are frail, chronically ill or physical- ly,debilitated. We can't force a nursing home to take a sick and elderly inmate, but we can incentivize their willingness and compensate them for efforts. This bill will do exactly that.
Prior legislative history
Assembly bill 8068 of 2018
Fiscal impact on the state
To be determined
Effective date
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.