This resolve requires the Department of Health and Human Services to amend its rule Chapter 101: MaineCare Benefits Manual, Chapter III, Section 67, Principles of Reimbursement for Nursing Facilities to:
1. Provide for a supplemental allowance per patient per day that is the difference between the amount reimbursed by the MaineCare program and the MaineCare allowable costs as reported in the as-filed MaineCare 2022 cost report. The amount may be no more than $90 per patient per day for nursing facilities not including rural nursing facilities;
2. Allow for education and training costs for direct care staff to be included as a cost component under the MaineCare program, including paying direct care staff wages while attending the education or training and paying the trainers; and
3. Establish the category of rural nursing facilities. The resolve requires any new nursing facility reimbursement rates developed pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 3173-J to be no less than reimbursement rates that include supplemental allowances and annual inflation adjustments for nursing facilities. For rural nursing facilities, the higher of the rate in the most recent as-filed cost report and the rate developed pursuant to rate reform is the reimbursement rate that must be paid. The resolve requires the department to direct any funds appropriated for one-time supplements or extraordinary circumstance allowances for nursing facilities or private nonmedical institutions within the scope of the department's rules for increased costs and lost revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic that have remained unspent to be used to create additional financial assistance opportunities for private nonmedical institutions within the scope of the department's rules. The resolve requires the department to seek any approvals necessary from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.