Authorizes assisted living programs to increase the number of beds within an existing program for any applicant that can satisfactorily demonstrate the public need.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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9892--A
IN ASSEMBLY
February 20, 2018
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted
as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to authorizing
assisted living program beds for any applicant that satisfactorily
demonstrates the public need for such beds
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 461-l of the social services law,
2 as added by chapter 165 of the laws of 1991, subparagraph (iii) of para-
3 graph (a) as amended by chapter 438 of the laws of 1994, paragraphs (b),
4 (c), (e) and (f) as amended by section 82 of part A of chapter 58 of the
5 laws of 2010, paragraph (d) as amended by chapter 591 of the laws of
6 1999, paragraph (g) as amended by chapter 397 of the laws of 2012, para-
7 graph (h) as added by section 20 of part B of chapter 58 of the laws of
8 2007, paragraph (i) as amended by section 67 of part C of chapter 60 of
9 the laws of 2014, and paragraph (j) as added by section 70 of part A of
10 chapter 56 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
11 3. Assisted living program approval. (a) An eligible applicant propos-
12 ing to operate an assisted living program or increase the number of beds
13 within an existing program shall submit an application to the [depart-
14 ment. Upon receipt, the department shall transmit a copy of the applica-
15 tion and accompanying documents to the] department of health. [Such] To
16 the extent applicable, such application shall be in a format and a quan-
17 tity determined by the department of health and shall include, but not
18 be limited to:
19 (i) a copy of or an application for an adult care facility operating
20 certificate;
21 (ii) a copy of or an application for a home care services agency
22 license or a copy of a certificate for a certified home health agency or
23 authorization as a long term home health care program;
24 (iii) a copy of a proposed contract with a social services district or
25 in a social services district with a population of one million or more,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14738-02-8
A. 9892--A 2
1 a copy of a proposed contract with the social services district or the
2 department;
3 (iv) if the applicant is not a long term home health care program or
4 certified home health agency, a copy of a proposed contract with a long
5 term home health care program or certified home health agency for the
6 provisions of services in accordance with article thirty-six of the
7 public health law; and
8 (v) a detailed description of the proposed program including budget,
9 staffing and services.
10 (b) If the application for the proposed program includes an applica-
11 tion for licensure as a home care service agency, the department of
12 health shall forward the application for the proposed program and accom-
13 panying documents to the public health and health planning council for
14 its written approval in accordance with the provisions of section thir-
15 ty-six hundred five of the public health law.
16 (c) An application for an assisted living program shall not be
17 approved unless the commissioner is satisfied as to:
18 (i) the character, competence and standing in the community of the
19 operator of the adult care facility;
20 (ii) the financial responsibility of the operator of the adult care
21 facility;
22 (iii) that the buildings, equipment, staff, standards of care and
23 records of the adult care facility to be employed in the operation
24 comply with applicable law, rule and regulation;
25 (iv) the commissioner of health is satisfied that the licensed home
26 care agency has received the written approval of the public health and
27 health planning council as required by paragraph (b) of this subdivision
28 and the equipment, personnel, rules, standards of care, and home care
29 services provided by the licensed home care agency and certified home
30 health agency or long term home health care program are fit and adequate
31 and will be provided in the manner required by article thirty-six of the
32 public health law and the rules and regulations thereunder; and
33 (v) [the commissioner and] the commissioner of health [are] is satis-
34 fied as to the public need for the assisted living program beds being
35 proposed after giving consideration to the specific population being
36 served and relative concentration of assisted living program beds in
37 existence in the area to be served. In approving applications for
38 assisted living program beds, the commissioner of health shall give
39 priority to applicants which:
40 (A) are an existing assisted living provider who is seeking approval
41 for less than ten beds under the department's expedited review process
42 and whose average occupancy over the prior twelve month period is great-
43 er than ninety percent;
44 (B) are in counties where there are two or fewer operational assisted
45 living program providers and where existing providers in such counties
46 have occupancy over the prior twelve month period in excess of eighty-
47 five percent; or
48 (C) are in counties where existing assisted living program beds which
49 provide services predominantly to individuals over the age of sixty-five
50 have an average occupancy in excess of eighty-five percent over the
51 prior twelve month period.
52 (d) The department of health shall not approve an application for an
53 assisted living program or an expansion of an existing program for any
54 eligible applicant who does not meet the requirements of this article,
55 including but not limited to, an eligible applicant who is already or
56 within the past ten years has been an incorporator, director, sponsor,
A. 9892--A 3
1 principal stockholder, member or owner of any adult care facility which
2 has been issued an operating certificate by the board or the department,
3 or of a halfway house, hostel or other residential facility or institu-
4 tion for the care, custody or treatment of the mentally disabled which
5 is subject to approval by an office of the department of mental hygiene,
6 or of any residential health care facility or home care agency as
7 defined in the public health law, unless [the department, in conjunction
8 with the department of health,] it finds by substantial evidence as to
9 each such applicant that a substantially consistent high level of care
10 has been rendered in each such facility or institution under which such
11 person is or was affiliated. For the purposes of this paragraph, there
12 may be a finding that a substantially consistent high level of care has
13 been rendered despite a record of violations of applicable rules and
14 regulations, if such violations (i) did not threaten to directly affect
15 the health, safety or welfare of any patient or resident, and (ii) were
16 promptly corrected and not recurrent.
17 (e) The commissioner of health shall provide written notice of
18 approval or disapproval of portions of the proposed application concern-
19 ing a licensed home care agency, certified home health agency or long
20 term home health care program, and, where applicable, of the approval or
21 disapproval of the public health and health planning council [to the
22 commissioner]. If an application receives all the necessary approvals,
23 the commissioner of health shall notify the applicant in writing. The
24 commissioner's written approval shall constitute authorization to oper-
25 ate an assisted living program.
26 (f) No assisted living program may be operated without the written
27 approval of [the department,] the department of health and, where appli-
28 cable, the public health and health planning council.
29 (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any
30 assisted living program having less than seventy-five authorized bed
31 slots, located in a county with a population of more than one hundred
32 ten thousand and less than one hundred fifty thousand persons based upon
33 the decennial federal census for the year two thousand, and which at any
34 point in time is unable to accommodate individuals awaiting placement
35 into the assisted living program, shall be authorized to increase the
36 number of assisted living beds available for a specified period of time
37 as part of a demonstration program by up to thirty percent of its
38 approved bed level; provided, however, that such program shall otherwise
39 satisfy all other assisted living program requirements as set forth in
40 this section. In addition, any program which receives such authorization
41 and which at any point on or after July first, two thousand five is
42 unable to accommodate individuals awaiting placement into the assisted
43 program, shall be authorized to further increase the number of assisted
44 living beds available as part of this demonstration program by up to
45 twenty-five percent of its bed level as of July first, two thousand
46 five; provided, however, that such program shall otherwise satisfy all
47 other assisted living program requirements as set forth in this section.
48 (h) The commissioner is authorized to add one thousand five hundred
49 assisted living program beds to the gross number of assisted living
50 program beds having been determined to be available as of April first,
51 two thousand seven.
52 (i) (a) The commissioner of health is authorized to add up to six
53 thousand assisted living program beds to the gross number of assisted
54 living program beds having been determined to be available as of April
55 first, two thousand nine. Nothing herein shall be interpreted as prohib-
56 iting any eligible applicant from submitting an application for any
A. 9892--A 4
1 assisted living program bed so added. The commissioner of health shall
2 not be required to review on a comparative basis applications submitted
3 for assisted living program beds made available under this paragraph.
4 The commissioner of health shall only authorize the addition of six
5 thousand beds pursuant to a seven year plan ending prior to January
6 first, two thousand seventeen.
7 (b) The commissioner of health shall provide an annual written report
8 to the chair of the senate standing committee on health and the chair of
9 the assembly health committee no later than January first of each year.
10 Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the number of assisted
11 living program beds made available pursuant to this section by county,
12 the total number of assisted living program beds by county, the number
13 of vacant assisted living program beds by county, and any other informa-
14 tion deemed necessary and appropriate.
15 (j) The commissioner of health is authorized to add up to four thou-
16 sand five hundred assisted living program beds to the gross number of
17 assisted living program beds having been determined to be available as
18 of April first, two thousand twelve. Applicants eligible to submit an
19 application under this paragraph shall be limited to adult homes estab-
20 lished pursuant to section four hundred sixty-one-b of this [article]
21 title with, as of September first, two thousand twelve, a certified
22 capacity of eighty beds or more in which twenty-five percent or more of
23 the resident population are persons with serious mental illness as
24 defined in regulations promulgated by the commissioner of health. The
25 commissioner of health shall not be required to review on a comparative
26 basis applications submitted for assisted living program beds made
27 available under this paragraph.
28 (k) (i) For periods on and after April first, two thousand eighteen,
29 the commissioner of health is authorized to issue up to one thousand
30 assisted living program beds. Applicants under this subparagraph shall
31 submit such applications for beds by September first, two thousand eigh-
32 teen.
33 (ii) For periods on and after April first, two thousand twenty, the
34 commissioner of health is authorized to issue up to an additional one
35 thousand assisted living program beds. Applicants under this subpara-
36 graph shall submit such applications for beds by September first, two
37 thousand twenty.
38 (iii) For periods on and after April first, two thousand twenty-two,
39 the commissioner of health is authorized to issue assisted living
40 program beds for any eligible applicant that satisfactorily demonstrates
41 the public need for such beds in the area to be served and meets all
42 other applicable requirements of this section. Demonstrated public need
43 shall be determined on a case by case basis whenever the commissioner is
44 satisfied public need exists at the time and place and under circum-
45 stances proposed by the applicant; provided, however, the prior bed
46 authorizations in this paragraph and paragraphs (h), (i) and (j) of this
47 subdivision shall continue in full force and effect.
48 (l) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
49 department of health shall develop an expedited review and approval
50 process for applications for up to nine additional beds to an existing
51 assisted living program qualified as being in good standing under
52 section four hundred sixty-one-b of this title. In no event shall the
53 review by the department of health of an application under the expedited
54 approval process exceed ninety days.
55 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
