Public Act 103-0139
 
HB2076 EnrolledLRB103 27114 CPF 53482 b


  
    AN ACT concerning regulation.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
 
    Section 5. The Nursing Home Care Act is amended  by 
changing Section 3-304.2 as follows:
 
    (210 ILCS 45/3-304.2)
    Sec. 3-304.2. Designation of distressed facilities.
    (a) (Blank). By May 1, 2011, and quarterly thereafter, the 
Department shall generate and publish quarterly a

list of 
distressed facilities.  Criteria for inclusion of certified 
facilities on the list shall be those used by the U.S. General 
Accounting Office in report 9-689, until such time as the 
Department by rule modifies the criteria.
    (b) (Blank). In deciding whether and how to modify the 
criteria used by the General Accounting Office, the Department 
shall complete a test run of any substitute criteria to 
determine their  reliability by comparing the number of 
facilities identified as distressed against the number of 
distressed facilities generated using the criteria contained 
in the General Accounting Office report.  The Department may 
not adopt substitute criteria that generate fewer facilities 
with a distressed designation than are produced by the General 
Accounting Office criteria during the test run.
    (b-5) The Department shall, by rule, adopt criteria to 
identify distressed facilities and shall publish a

list of 
distressed facilities quarterly. The Department shall, by 
rule, create a timeframe and a procedure on how a facility can 
be removed from the list. No facility shall be identified as a 
distressed facility unless it has committed a violation or 
deficiency that has harmed a resident. 
    (c) The Department shall, by  rule, adopt criteria to 
identify non-Medicaid-certified facilities that are distressed 
and shall publish this list quarterly. The list may not 
contain more than 40 facilities per quarter beginning October 
1, 2011.
    (d) The Department shall notify each facility of its 
distressed designation, and of the calculation on

which it is 
based. A facility has the right to appeal a designation, and 
the procedure for appealing shall be outlined in rule. 
    (e) A distressed facility may contract with an independent 
consultant meeting criteria established by

the Department.  If 
the distressed facility does not seek the assistance of an 
independent

consultant, the Department shall place a monitor 
or a temporary manager in the facility, depending

on the 
Department's assessment of the condition of the facility.
    (f) Independent consultant.  A facility that has been 
designated a distressed facility may

contract with an 
independent consultant to develop and assist in the


implementation of a plan of improvement to bring and keep

the 
facility in compliance with this Act and, if applicable, with 
federal certification

requirements.  A facility that contracts 
with an independent consultant

shall have 90 days to develop a 
plan of improvement and demonstrate a

good faith effort at 
implementation, and another 90 days to achieve compliance

and 
take whatever additional actions are called for in the 
improvement plan

to maintain compliance.  A facility that the 
Department determines has a plan

of improvement likely to 
bring and keep the facility in compliance

and that  has 
demonstrated good faith efforts at implementation

within the 
first 90 days may be eligible to receive a grant under  the 
Equity

in Long-term Care Quality Act to assist it in achieving 
and maintaining compliance.

In this subsection, "independent" 
consultant means an individual who has no professional or


financial relationship with the facility, any person with a 
reportable ownership

interest in the facility, or any related 
parties.  In this subsection, "related parties" has the

meaning 
attributed to it in the instructions for completing Medicaid 
cost reports.
    (f-5) Monitor and temporary managers.  A distressed 
facility that does not contract with a consultant shall be 
assigned a monitor or a temporary manager at the Department's 
discretion.  The monitor cost of the temporary manager shall be 
paid by the facility.  The temporary manager shall have the 
authority determined by the Department, which may grant the 
temporary manager any or all of the authority a court may grant 
a receiver.  The temporary manager may apply to the Equity in 
Long-term Care Quality  Fund on behalf of the facility for 
grant funds to implement the plan of improvement.
    (g) The Department shall, by rule, establish a mentor 
program for owners and operators of distressed facilities. The 
mentor program shall provide technical assistance and guidance 
to facilities. 
    (h) The Department shall by rule establish sanctions (in 
addition to those authorized elsewhere in this Article)  
against distressed facilities that are not in compliance with 
this Act and (if applicable) with federal certification 
requirements.  Criteria for imposing sanctions shall take into 
account a facility's actions to address the violations and 
deficiencies that  caused its designation as a distressed 
facility, and its compliance with this Act and with federal 
certification requirements (if applicable), subsequent to its 
designation as a distressed facility, including mandatory 
revocations if criteria can be agreed upon by the Department, 
resident advocates, and representatives of the nursing home 
profession.  By February 1, 2011, the Department shall report 
to the General Assembly  on the results of negotiations about 
creating criteria for mandatory license revocations of 
distressed facilities and make recommendations about any 
statutory changes it believes are appropriate to protect the 
health, safety, and welfare of nursing home residents.
    (i) The Department may establish, by rule,  criteria for 
restricting an owner of a facility from acquiring additional 
nursing facilities if the owner of a facility was placed on the 
distressed list while it was owned by that owner from 
acquiring additional skilled nursing facilities. The 
Department may not prohibit an owner who acquires ownership of 
a facility that is already on the distressed facility list 
before the owner's acquisition of the facility from acquiring 
additional skilled nursing facilities. 

    (j) This Section does not apply to homes, institutions, or 
other places operated by or under the authority of the 
Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs as these facilities 
are certified by the United States Department of Veterans 
Affairs and not the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services. 
(Source: P.A. 96-1372, eff. 7-29-10; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)