H-4970.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2944

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1996 Regular Session

By House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representative Dyer)

Read first time 02/05/96.

Affirming and clarifying the legislative authority to treat the initial rate set for refurbished and new nursing facilities as that rate which is established on July 1, 1995, for purposes of applying the eighty-five percent minimum occupancy requirement.

    AN ACT Relating to affirming and clarifying the legislative authority to treat the initial rate set for refurbished and new nursing facilities as that rate which is established on July 1, 1995, for purposes of applying the eighty-five percent minimum occupancy requirement; and amending RCW 74.46.430.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 74.46.430 and 1995 1st sp.s. c 18 s 100 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) The department, as provided by this chapter, will determine prospective payment rates for services provided to medical care recipients.  Each rate so determined shall represent the contractor's maximum compensation within each cost center and for return on investment for each resident day for such medical care recipient.

    (2) The department may modify such maximum per resident day rates, consistent with this chapter, pursuant to the administrative appeals or exception procedure authorized by RCW 74.46.780.

    (3) For July 1, 1995, and all following rates, the maximum prospective component payment rates for the nursing services, food, administrative, operational, and property cost centers, and the return on investment (ROI) component rate for each nursing facility shall be established based upon a minimum licensed bed facility occupancy level of ninety percent, except for rate adjustments as provided for in RCW 74.46.460(6), and except for entirely new facilities that commenced operation in 1994 and operated for less than a full calendar year in 1994 in which case the rate for each component shall be based on a minimum licensed bed facility occupancy level of eighty-five percent.

    (4) The minimum ninety percent facility occupancy shall be used to calculate individual rates, to calculate the median cost limits (MCLs) for the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and nonmetropolitan statistical area (non-MSA) peer groups, and to array facilities by costs in calculating the variable return portion of the return on investment rate component (ROI).

    (5) All contractors shall be required to adjust and maintain wages for all employees to a minimum hourly wage of four dollars and seventy-six cents per hour beginning January 1, 1988, and five dollars and fifteen cents per hour beginning January 1, 1989.

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