Senate Bill 139, introduced by Senator Cabral-Guevara and co-sponsored by several representatives, seeks to repeal section 150.345 of the statutes, which currently governs the transfer of nursing home beds. Under existing law, the Department of Health Services (DHS) oversees the licensing of nursing home beds and allows for the transfer of these beds between nursing homes under specific conditions, such as geographic proximity and ownership similarities. The bill proposes to eliminate this transfer process entirely.

Instead of allowing transfers, the bill stipulates that closed nursing home beds will be redistributed according to existing procedures. DHS will be required to redistribute nursing home beds within a county if the number of beds available for individuals aged 65 and over falls below 80% of the statewide average, provided that the occupancy levels of other nursing homes in the county meet or exceed the statewide average. Additionally, DHS will publish an annual notice detailing the number of available beds in each health planning area, allowing nursing homes to apply for these beds, with DHS responsible for reviewing applications based on statutory and rule-based criteria.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 150.345