Senate Bill S6111

                                BILL NUMBER:S6111

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public health law, in relation to extending the number of
days within a twelve month period a facility may receive reimbursement
for a reserved bed

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to increase the number of days within
a twelve-month period that a facility may receive reimbursement
for a reserved bed from ten days to twenty-five days, provided such
person's individual care plan provide for therapeutic leave.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends subparagraph iii of paragraph b of subdivision
25 of section 2808 of the public health law, as added by section 31
of part B of chapter 109 of the laws of 2010.

Section 2: amends subparagraph iii of paragraph b of subdivision
25 of section 2808 of the public health law, as amended by section
69 of part H of chapter 59 of the laws of 2011.

Section 3: Effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
              

Under Chapter 109 of the Laws of 2010, the Department of Health
will reimburse a residential health care facility to reserve the bed
for a Medicaid recipient, aged twenty-one or older, for ten days in
a twelve-month period for non-hospital, therapeutic leaves of absence.
This is a decrease from the originally established twenty-five day
limit.

The purpose of rehabilitation treatment is to assist the transition
from hospital to home. Many of the treatment plans, developed by
health care professionals for individuals enrolled in these programs,
include frequent interaction with family and friends as it
contributes greatly to recovery. Ten days provides a patient with
less than one day per month to spend at home over the course of an
entire year. Additionally, a patient's leave of absence is even more
limited due to the time it may take traveling to and from the
facility, which for some patients with certain conditions, may be
hours away and/or out of state.

Patients in residential health care facilities and their families
should be given the opportunity to focus on recuperation. They
should not be burdened with the additional stress of strategizing
when to utilize the scarce number of days provided to them over the
course of the year. This legislation will provide patients with a
reasonable number of days to fulfill the interaction portion of their
therapy, while assisting families in their efforts to arrange ample
travel time to bring their loved ones home.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.


FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately, provided that section two of this act shall take
effect on the same date and in the same manner as section 69 of
of the laws of 2011 takes effect.