Section 44 Nursing Facility Assessment 2

Subsection (f) of said section 63 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following words:- , or impose a limitation on new admissions for any nursing home that fails to remit delinquent fees, as directed by the executive office. The secretary of the executive office may also enforce this section: (i) by offsetting payments from the office of Medicaid against the claims for payment by the delinquent nursing home, or against other nursing homes with a common licensee as the delinquent nursing home, or against any successor in interest to those nursing homes, in the amount of the delinquent fees owed, including any interest, penalties or reasonable attorneys' fees, and transferring such funds into the General Fund; (ii) by creating, after demand for payment, a lien in favor of the commonwealth in an amount not to exceed the delinquent fees owed, including any interest, penalties or attorneys' fees, encumbering the building in which the facility is located, the real property upon which the facility is located, any fixtures, equipment or goods used in the operation of the facility, or any real property in which the licensee holds an interest; provided, that such lien shall be prior to any mortgage or lien held by any person with an ownership interest in the facility, or who directly or indirectly controls or has the ability to control to any significant degree the management or policies of the licensee or the facility, or who is related to the licensee or to the facility by any significant degree of common ownership or common control; or (iii) by such other appropriate mechanism as the executive office may establish by regulation under subsection (g).

This section allows DPH to enforce compliance with the nursing facility assessment by imposing a freeze on new admissions to a facility rather than revocation of licensure. This section also allows HHS to enforce compliance with the assessment by means similar to those available to enforce compliance with other provider assessments.