STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________

7224

IN SENATE

January 10, 2020 ___________

Introduced by Sen. BROOKS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring specific reserved bed days for veterans, spouses of veterans, widows of veter- ans, Gold Star Parents and their dependents who are cared for at the New York State Veterans' Homes

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows:

1 Section 1. Subdivision 25 of section 2808 of the public health law, as 2 amended by section 2 of part E of chapter 57 of the laws of 2017, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 25. Reserved bed days. (a) For purposes of this subdivision, a 5 "reserved bed day" is a day for which a governmental agency pays or 6 otherwise requires a residential health care facility to reserve a bed 7 for a person eligible for medical assistance pursuant to title eleven of 8 article five of the social services law while he or she is temporarily 9 hospitalized or on therapeutic leave of absence from the facility. 10 (b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section or any other 11 law or regulation to the contrary, for reserved bed days provided on 12 behalf of persons twenty-one years of age or older: 13 (i) payments for reserved bed days shall be made at ninety-five 14 percent of the Medicaid rate otherwise payable to the facility for 15 services provided on behalf of such person; and 16 (ii) payment to a facility for reserved bed days provided on behalf of 17 such person for therapeutic leaves of absence may not exceed ten days in 18 any twelve month period. 19 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other 20 law or regulation to the contrary, with respect to veterans, spouses of 21 veterans, widows of veterans, Gold Star Parents and their dependents who 22 are cared for at the New York State Veterans' Home at Oxford, the New 23 York State Veterans' Home at St. Albans, the New York State Veterans' 24 Home at Batavia, the New York State Veterans' Home at Montrose and the 25 Long Island State Veterans' Home such facilities shall establish a 26 reserve bed day policy not to exceed ten days in any twelve-month period

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14358-01-9

S. 7224 2

1 when such persons are temporarily hospitalized or on therapeutic leave 2 of absence. 3 (i) In order to qualify for coverage of reserved bed days as provided 4 in this paragraph: 5 (A) the person must have resided in the applicable State Veterans' 6 Home for at least thirty days since the date of his or her initial 7 admission; and 8 (B) the part of the facility to which the person will return must have 9 a vacancy rate or no more than five percent on the first day the person 10 is hospitalized or on therapeutic leave of absence. 11 (ii) Unless medically contraindicated, the applicable State Veterans' 12 Home shall reserve the same bed and room the person occupied before 13 being hospitalized or placed on therapeutic leave of absence. 14 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 15 have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or 16 repeal of any rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of 17 this act on or before its effective date are authorized to be made and 18 completed on or before such effective date.