Expands the scope of the temporary operator program permitting the commissioner of health to appoint an operator if a facility experiences serious financial instability or conditions that seriously endanger the life, health or safety of residents or patients.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6034--B
Cal. No. 172
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 30, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, SAYEGH -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- ordered to a third reading -- passed by Assembly and delivered
to the Senate, recalled from the Senate, vote reconsidered, bill
amended, ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third
reading
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to expanding the
scope of the temporary operator program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2806-a of the public health law,
2 as added by section 50 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws of 2013,
3 paragraph (g) as added by section 7 of part K of chapter 57 of the laws
4 of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
5 1. For the purposes of this section:
6 (a) "adult care facility" shall mean an adult home or enriched housing
7 program licensed pursuant to article seven of the social services law or
8 an assisted living residence licensed pursuant to article forty-six-B of
9 this chapter;
10 (b) "established operator" shall mean the operator of [an adult care]
11 a facility[, a general hospital or a diagnostic and treatment center
12 that has been established and issued an operating certificate as such
13 pursuant to this article];
14 (c) "facility" shall mean (i) a [general] hospital [or a diagnostic
15 and treatment center that has been issued an operating certificate as
16 such pursuant to this article]; or (ii) an adult care facility;
17 (d) "temporary operator" shall mean any person or entity that:
18 (i) agrees to operate a facility on a temporary basis in the best
19 interests of its residents or patients and the community served by the
20 facility; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10407-03-4
A. 6034--B 2
1 (ii) has demonstrated that [he or she has] they have the character,
2 competence and financial ability to operate the facility in compliance
3 with applicable standards;
4 (e) "serious financial instability" shall include but not be limited
5 to defaulting or violating key covenants of loans, or missed mortgage
6 payments, or general untimely payment of obligations, including but not
7 limited to employee benefit fund, payroll tax, and insurance premium
8 obligations, or failure to maintain required debt service coverage
9 ratios or, as applicable, factors that have triggered a written event of
10 default notice to the department by the dormitory authority of the state
11 of New York; and
12 (f) "extraordinary financial assistance" shall mean state funds
13 provided to a facility upon such facility's request for the purpose of
14 assisting the facility to address serious financial instability. Such
15 funds may be derived from existing programs within the department,
16 special appropriations, or other funds.
17 (g) "improper delegation of management authority by the governing
18 authority or operator" of a [general hospital] facility shall include,
19 but not be limited to, the delegation to an entity that has not been
20 established as an operator of the [general hospital] facility of (i)
21 authority to hire or fire the administrator or other key management
22 employees; (ii) maintenance and control of the books and records; (iii)
23 authority over the disposition of assets and the incurring of liabil-
24 ities on behalf of the facility; and (iv) the adoption and enforcement
25 of policies regarding the operation of the facility. The criteria set
26 forth in this paragraph shall not be the sole determining factors, but
27 indicators to be considered with such other factors that may be perti-
28 nent in particular instances. Professional expertise shall be exercised
29 in the utilization of the criteria. All of the listed indicia need not
30 be present in a given instance for there to be an improper delegation of
31 authority.
32 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided the amendments
33 to section 2806-a of the public health law made by section one of this
34 act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed
35 repealed therewith.
