LB353 LB353
2023 2023
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 353
Introduced by Raybould, 28.
Read first time January 12, 2023
Committee: Health and Human Services
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to nursing facilities; to provide for grants
2 for certain projects relating to long-term care facility capacity;
3 to provide duties for the Department of Health and Human Services;
4 to state intent regarding appropriations; and to declare an
5 emergency.
6 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. (1) The Division of Public Health of the Department of
2 Health and Human Services shall award a grant, beginning in September
3 2023, to a nursing facility or a skilled nursing facility, as such terms
4 are defined in the Health Care Facility Licensure Act, which applies to
5 the division for a grant according to the terms and conditions for
6 application established by the division. To qualify for a grant, a
7 facility shall have a memorandum of understanding with at least one
8 qualifying hospital in the state to accept complex acute transition
9 patients into any facility being benefited by the grant.
10 (2) A grant shall be used for any project that increases the long-
11 term care facility capacity to support the transition of residents with
12 specific service needs that are not readily available in the long-term
13 care setting, including, but not limited to, the purchase and
14 installation of equipment to assist with resident care, remodeling
15 existing structures or additions to allow for patient care, the purchase
16 or modification of adaptive vehicles, the purchase and utilization of
17 computer services and software that aid in patient flow, and the
18 construction or modification of special additions and renovations that
19 restructure beds within facilities.
20 (3) A grant shall be limited to a maximum of two hundred fifty
21 thousand dollars per facility. As a condition of receipt of a grant under
22 this section, a facility shall agree to complete the project and utilize
23 the grant within twelve months after receipt. The division may permit a
24 six-month extension if the facility proves to the division that a
25 hardship exists. If the facility does not utilize the grant within such
26 period, the facility shall return the grant to the division. The division
27 shall enforce the requirements of any grant awarded under this section.
28 (4) The division shall electronically provide an annual report on
29 grants awarded and the use of the grants to the Clerk of the Legislature
30 and the Legislative Fiscal Analyst.
31 (5) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate twenty-five
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1 million dollars from the General Fund for fiscal year 2023-24 to the
2 Department of Health and Human Services to award grants under this
3 section.
4 Sec. 2. Since an emergency exists, this act takes effect when
5 passed and approved according to law.
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