ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
nursing care institutions;
incentive grants
Appropriates, subject to
availability of monies, $1.5 million in FY 2001-2002 from the medically needy
account to the Department of Health Services (DHS) to award quality rating
financial incentive grants to nursing care institutions.
Statute requires DHS to
issue each licensed nursing care institution a quality rating based on an
evaluation of the quality of services provided by the institution (A.R.S.
§36-425.02). The quality rating score
is based on the institution’s compliance with specific standards prescribed in
the Arizona Administrative Code and reflects the institution’s performance as
excellent, standard or substandard.
Statute allows the Director
of DHS to use the quality-rating category in determining the period of time an
institution’s license is valid up to a period of three years. Currently, there are 155 licensed nursing
care institutions in Arizona with a total of 18,035 beds. According to DHS, 40 percent (or 62) of
those institutions have a quality rating of excellent. Of those, only 24 had two consecutive
quality ratings of excellent. S.B. 1302
provides incentive grants for institutions that achieve an excellent rating in
two consecutive years and meet other eligibility criteria.
Provisions
1. Appropriates, subject to availability of monies, $1.5 million in FY 2001-2002 from the medically needy account to DHS to award quality rating financial incentive grants to nursing care institutions. Exempts the appropriation from lapsing.
2. Requires the grants to be awarded to nursing care institutions that receive, in two consecutive years, a quality rating of excellent on the annual facility compliance and licensure survey.
3. Excludes from eligibility for an incentive grant nursing care institutions that receive a violation with potential for more than minimal harm that is determined to be widespread, or a violation that has resulted in actual harm or constitutes immediate jeopardy to resident health and safety.
4. Caps each grant at $100,000.
5. Requires a facility that receives a grant to use the monies for direct care nonadministrative staff to improve the quality of resident care.
6. Specifies individual incentive grants equal the amount that results from dividing $1.5 million by the total number of census days for all the qualified nursing care institutions, and then multiplying that amount by the number of census days for each eligible facility.
7. Prohibits DHS from awarding grants to nursing care institutions that were placed on a provisional license in the twelve months prior to the award of the grant or that ceased operation before the annual grant money distribution date.
8. Authorizes DHS to apply for available matching federal monies.
9. Requires, by November 1, 2001, DHS to report to the Health Committees of Reference on the new criteria and rating system for nursing care institution licensure surveys.
10. Defines a “census day.”
11. Provides for a general effective date.
Amendments
Adopted by Health Committee
1. Reduces the appropriation from $3 million to $1.5 million.
2. Requires, to qualify for a grant, each institution to obtain an excellent quality rating in two consecutive years rather than one and requires the institution to meet all of the criteria under the nursing and resident rights components of the survey.
3. Requires the grants to be used for direct care nonadministrative staff to improve the quality of resident care.
4. Caps each grant at $50,000.
5. Adds a reporting requirement.
Amendments
Adopted by Appropriations Committee
Adopted the Health Committee amendment.
Amendments
Adopted by the Conference Committee
Specifies the violation that makes a nursing care institution ineligible for an incentive grant must be widespread, as determined by DHS.
Amendments Adopted by the House of Representatives
1. Replaces the qualifying criteria for an incentive grant.
2. Increases the cap on incentive grants from $50,000 to $100,000 per nursing care institution.
3. Authorizes DHS to apply for matching federal monies.
Senate Action House Action
HEA 2/2/7/01 DPA 5-0-3-0 HEA 3/26/01 DP 8-0-0-2
APPROP 3/6/01 DPA 10-0-2-0 APPROP 4/18/01 DP 12-3-0-1
3rd Read 3/15/01 29-0-1 3rd Read 4/24/01 50-5-5
Final Read 5/2/01 28-0-2 Final Read 5/2/01 49-7-4
Signed by the Governor 5/7/01
Chapter 365
Prepared by Senate Staff
May 17, 2001