§ 367-V — County long-term care financing demonstration program

§ 367-v. County long-term care financing demonstration program. 1.\nNotwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the commissioner is\nauthorized to establish a long-term care financing demonstration\nprogram, to operate in up to five counties, for the purpose of creating\nincentives and funding for the transformation of county nursing home\nbeds into other long-term care settings.\n 2. (a) The demonstration program established pursuant to this section\nshall permit a participating county to reduce its county nursing home\nbed capacity, or to close a county nursing home, and to invest any\nresulting demonstrated savings in programs or services that will, to the\nextent feasible, encourage the use of community-based long-term care\nalternatives to institutional care.\n (b) Such programs or services may include, but are not limited to:\n (i) expansion of community-based services such as the program for\nall-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE), the long term home health\ncare program, the managed long term care program, adult day care\nservices, and caregiver support services;\n (ii) expansion of senior housing;\n (iii) assisted living program;\n (iv) payment of subsidies to encourage assisted living programs, adult\ncare facilities, and non-public nursing homes to accept hard-to-serve\nresidents; and\n (v) contracts with non-public nursing homes to guarantee beds for\nthose hard-to-serve persons who choose nursing home care or for whom\nother community-based options are not feasible or are unavailable.\n 3. A county wishing to participate in the demonstration program\nestablished pursuant to this section shall develop a plan and submit an\napplication for participation to the commissioner of health detailing\nsuch plan at a time and in a manner to be determined by such\ncommissioner. The commissioner is authorized to approve or disapprove\nany such application and to certify the amount of demonstrated savings.\n 4. Notwithstanding the cap on social services district shares of\nmedical assistance expenditures established pursuant to section one of\npart C of chapter fifty-eight of the laws of two thousand five, the\ndirector of the division of the budget is authorized, in his or her sole\ndiscretion, to adjust a district's cap amount to account for changes in\nthe non-federal share of medical assistance resulting from any approved\ndemonstration plan.\n 5. The commissioner of health is authorized to submit any amendments\nto the state plan for medical assistance and any waivers of the federal\nsocial security act that such commissioner determines to be necessary to\nobtain federal financial participation in the costs of services provided\npursuant to this section.\n 6. The commissioner of health shall submit a report to the governor,\ntemporary president of the senate and speaker of the assembly by the\nfirst day of November, two thousand fifteen, on the implementation of\nthis section. Such report shall include identification of the counties\napproved to participate in the demonstration, a description of such\ncounties' approved demonstration plans, an analysis of the impact of the\ndemonstration on long-term care costs and service delivery, any\nrecommendations for legislative action, and such other matters as may be\npertinent.\n