Section 49 Nursing Facility Assessment 2

Subsection (f) of said section 63 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sentences:- Not later than 45 days after notice to a nursing home of amounts due, the department shall revoke the license of, or impose a limitation on new admissions for, a nursing home that fails to remit delinquent fees as directed by the executive office. The secretary of health and human services may also enforce this section by: (i) offsetting payments from the office of Medicaid against the claims for payment by the delinquent nursing home, 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 by transferring such funds into the General Fund; or (ii) 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 reasonable 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, however, that such lien shall be prior to any mortgage or lien held by any person: (A) with an ownership interest in the facility; (B) 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 (C) who is related to the licensee or to the facility by any significant degree of common ownership or common control.