Miriam Osborn Memorial Home Ass'n v. Chassin

172 Misc. 2d 878, 658 N.Y.S.2d 156, 1996 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 581
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 7, 1996
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 172 Misc. 2d 878 (Miriam Osborn Memorial Home Ass'n v. Chassin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miriam Osborn Memorial Home Ass'n v. Chassin, 172 Misc. 2d 878, 658 N.Y.S.2d 156, 1996 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 581 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Nicholas Colabella, J.

Motion by defendants for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and for partial summary judgment on their counterclaims directing the plaintiff to file monthly and annual reports as required by Public Health Law § 2807-d (7) (a) and cross motion by plaintiff for summary judgment in its favor on its complaint and to dismiss defendants’ counterclaims are decided as follows:

The plaintiff Miriam Osborn Memorial Home Association (hereinafter Osborn Memorial), a not-for-profit corporation, is the owner and operator of the Osborn Retirement Community, a nursing home licensed under article 28 of the Public Health Law. Plaintiff commenced the present action in February 1993 seeking a judgment (1) declaring Public Health Law § 2807-d, which imposes an assessment on the gross receipts of certain health care facilities, unlawful and unconstitutional as applied to it, (2) declaring the assessment imposed by Public Health Law § 2807-d constitutes a tax, (3) declaring it not liable for the assessment imposed by Public Health Law § 2807-d, and (4) enjoining the defendants from collecting the assessment or otherwise enforcing Public Health Law § 2807-d against it. Plaintiff claims that the statute violates its substantive due process rights, denies it equal protection, constitutes an unconstitutional taking without just compensation, violates 42 USC § 1983 and unlawfully imposes a franchise tax upon it. The defendants interposed two counterclaims seeking an order directing plaintiff to comply with the reporting requirements of Public Health Law § 2807-d and to pay the assessment imposed by the statute.

The defendants now move for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and for partial summary judgment on their counterclaims directing the plaintiff to comply with the reporting requirements of Public Health Law § 2807-d. The defendants contend that the statute does not violate the plaintiff’s due process rights, deprive the plaintiff of equal protection of the law, result in an unconstitutional taking without just compensation, violate 42 USC § 1983, or impose a franchise [881]*881tax. Specifically, the defendants contend that the statute is a revenue-raising measure rationally related to the legislative objective of eliminating the State deficit, a legitimate State interest.

In response, the plaintiff cross-moves for summary judgment in its favor on its complaint and the defendants’ counterclaims and for an order (1) declaring Public Health Law § 2807-d, as applied to it, unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void, (2) declaring it not responsible for the submission of reports or the payment of assessments pursuant to the statute, and (3) enjoining the defendants from collecting the assessments from it or otherwise enforcing the statute against it. The plaintiff concedes that no triable questions of fact exist and that the questions of law raised by the parties should be adjudicated upon these motions.

Public Health Law § 2807-d, which became effective on January 1, 1991 (L 1990, ch 938), provides that "[h]ospitals, as defined in this article * * * are charged assessments on their gross receipts received from all patient care services and other operating income, less personal needs allowances and refunds, on a cash basis in the percentage amounts and for the periods specified in subdivision two of this section” (Public Health Law § 2807-d [1] [a]). Initially, the statute provided for an assessment on residential health care facilities of 0.6% of gross receipts from patient care and all other operating income (Public Health Law § 2807-d [2] [former (b)]). When enacted, the only exemption provided for by the statute was for voluntary general hospitals experiencing severe fiscal hardship because of insufficient resources to finance losses from bad debts and the costs of charity care (Public Health Law § 2807-d [former (1)]). Pursuant to the statute all facilities are required to submit quarterly and certified annual reports "on a cash basis of actual gross receipts received from all patient care services and operating income” (Public Health Law § 2807-d [7] [a]). The statute also authorizes the Commissioner of the Department of Health to recoup any unpaid assessments from third-party payments owed to the delinquent facility by the State, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Health Maintenance Organizations (Public Health Law § 2807-d [6] [a]-[c]).

In 1992, the statute was amended (L 1992, ch 41), in relevant part, by adding an additional 1.2% assessment on residential health care facilities (Public Health Law § 2807-d [2] [b] [ii]) and additional exemptions for "voluntary nonprofit hospitals totally financed by charitable contributions or by the income [882]*882thereon dedicated to free care of low income patients” and "any facility dedicated solely to the care of police, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, and emergency service personnel” (Public Health Law § 2807-d [1] [b] [ii], [iii]). The 1992 amendment also provided that the additional 1.2% assessment on residential health care facilities was a reimbursable cost for Medicaid program purposes and would be reflected in the facilities’ Medicaid rate (Public Health Law § 2807-d [10] [b]). The 1992 amendments became effective April 2, 1992.

Insofar as the plaintiff commenced the present action on or about February 5, 1993, the present action cannot be deemed to challenge the amendments to the statute made after that date. Accordingly, this court need only consider the plaintiff’s claims with respect to the statute as it existed between January 1, 1991 and February 5, 1993.

The plaintiff first contends that Public Health Law § 2807-d violates its right to due process insofar as the application of the statute to it does not further the legislative objective of the statute. The plaintiff contends that the plain meaning of the statute, the legislative history, alleged admissions by the defendants and the lack of an enforcement mechanism other than the recoupment of certain third-party payments establish that the legislative objective of the statute was to achieve savings in the Medicaid program without reducing Medicaid reimbursement rates to health care facilities by taxing health care facilities who participate in the Medicaid program. The plaintiff contends that the statute, as applied to it, does not further this legislative goal insofar as it does not participate in the Medicaid program and the statute creates an incentive for it to join the Medicaid program in order to receive the benefits of the statute, including the absence of Medicaid reimbursement rate reductions and reimbursement via Medicaid payments of the additional 1.2% assessment. Thus, the plaintiff contends that the application and enforcement of the statute against it, as a health care provider who does not participate in the Medicaid program, is arbitrary and capricious and violates its right to due process.

Initially, this court notes that a legislative enactment is deemed to be constitutional until the party challenging the statute has satisfied the court to the contrary (Health Ins. Assn. v Harnett, 44 NY2d 302, 310). Legislation satisfies the requirements of substantive due process if it is reasonably related to a legitimate governmental objective (Village of Belle Terre v Boraas, 416 US 1). Furthermore, a statute which is [883]

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Bluebook (online)
172 Misc. 2d 878, 658 N.Y.S.2d 156, 1996 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 581, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miriam-osborn-memorial-home-assn-v-chassin-nysupct-1996.