General Definitions

As used in 101 CMR 206.00, unless the context requires otherwise, terms have the following meanings. Administrative and General Costs. Administrative and general costs include the amounts reported in the following accounts: administrator salaries; payroll taxes - administrator; worker’s compensation - administrator; group life/health - administrator; administrator pensions; other administrator benefits; clerical; EDP/payroll/bookkeeping services; administrator-in-training; office supplies; phone; conventions and meetings; help wanted advertisement; licenses and dues, resident- care related; education and training - administration; accounting - other; insurance - malpractice; other operating expenses; realty company variable costs; management company allocated variable costs; and management company allocated fixed costs. Administrator in training. A person registered with the Board of Registration of Nursing Home Administrators and involved in a course of training as described in 245 CMR: Board of Registration of Nursing Home Administrators. Audit. An examination of the provider’s cost report and supporting documentation to evaluate the accuracy of the financial statements and identification of Medicaid patient-related costs. Base Year. The calendar year used to compute the standard payments. Body Mass Index (BMI). A person’s weight divided by their height. Capital Costs. Capital costs include depreciation expenses on building, improvements, equipment, software, and other limited life assets; long-term interest expense; building insurance; real estate tax; non-income portion of Massachusetts Corporate Excise Taxes; personal property taxes on nursing facility equipment; other rental expenses for fixed costs; and other fixed costs. Center. The Center for Health Information and Analysis established under M.G.L. c. 12C. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The federal agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is responsible for administering the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Department of Public Health (DPH). An agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, established under M.G.L. c. 17, § 1. Direct Restorative Therapy. Services of physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech, hearing, and language therapists provided directly to individual residents to reduce physical or mental disability and to restore the resident to maximum functional level. Direct restorative therapy services are provided only upon written order of a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who has indicated anticipated goals and frequency of treatment to the individual resident. Direct restorative therapy services include supervisory, administrative, and consulting time associated with provision of the services. These include, but are not limited to, reviewing preadmission referrals, informally communicating with families, scheduling treatments, completing resident care documentation including MDS documentation, screening of patients, writing orders, meeting with aides to discuss patients, consulting with physicians and nurse practitioners, managing equipment, and assessing equipment needs of patients. Equipment. A fixed asset, usually moveable, accessory or supplemental to the building, including such items as beds, tables, and wheelchairs. Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS). The executive department of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts established under M.G.L. c. 6A, § 2 that, through the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, the MassHealth program, and other agencies within EOHHS, as appropriate, operates and administers the programs of medical assistance and medical benefits under M.G.L. c. 118E and that serves as the single state agency under § 1902(a)(5) of the Social Security Act. Financing Contribution. Payment for the use of necessary capital assets whether internally or externally funded. Generally Available Employee Benefits. Employee benefits that are nondiscriminatory and available to all full-time employees. Hospital-based Nursing Facility. A separate nursing facility unit or units located in a hospital building licensed for both hospital and nursing facility services in which the nursing facility licensed beds are less than a majority of the facility’s total licensed beds and the nursing facility patient days are less than a majority of the facility’s total patient days. It does not include freestanding nursing facilities owned by hospitals. Improvements. Expenditures that increase the quality of the building by rearranging the building layout or substituting improved components for old components so that the provider is in some way better than it was before the renovation. Improvements do not add to or expand the square footage of the building. An improvement is measured by the provider’s increased productivity, greater capacity, or longer life. Indirect Restorative Therapy. Indirect restorative therapy services consist only of services of physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech, hearing, and language therapists to provide the following: orientation programs for aides and assistants; in-service training to staff; consultation and planning for continuing care after discharge; preadmission meetings with families; quality improvement activities such as record reviews, analysis of information and writing reports; personnel activities including hiring, firing, and interviewing; rehabilitation staff scheduling; and attending team meetings including quality improvement, falls, skin team, daily admissions, interdisciplinary, departmental staff, discharge planning, and family meetings when resident is not present. Induction Period. Days that a nursing facility patient is transported to an Opioid Treatment Program by a nursing facility direct care staff for the purpose of induction on medication assisted treatment at the Opioid Treatment Program. Industrial Accident Resident. A person receiving nursing facility services for which an employer or an insurer is liable under the Workers’ Compensation Act, M.G.L. c. 152. Management Minute Questionnaire (MMQ). A method of measuring resident care intensity, or case mix, by discrete caregiving activities or the characteristics of residents found to require a given amount of care. Massachusetts Corporate Excise Tax. Those taxes that have been paid to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue in connection with the filing of Form 355A, Massachusetts Corporate Excise Tax Return. Medication for Addiction Treatment. Use of a medication approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of a substance use disorder. Minimum Data Set (MDS). A CMS-provided standardized assessment tool for nursing facilities to determine a nursing facility patient’s Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) case mix category. Mortgage Acquisition Costs. Those costs (such as finder’s fees, certain legal fees, and filing fees) necessary to obtain long-term financing through a mortgage, bond, or other long-term debt instrument. Nursing Costs. Nursing costs include the reported costs for director of nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nursing aides, nursing assistants, orderlies, nursing purchased services, and the workers compensation expense, payroll tax expense, and fringe benefits, including pension expense, associated with those salaries. Nursing Facility. A nursing or convalescent home; an infirmary maintained in a town; a charitable home for the aged, as defined in M.G.L. c. 111, § 71; or a nursing facility operating under a hospital license issued by the Department of Public Health pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111, and certified by the Department of Public Health for participation in MassHealth. It includes facilities that operate a licensed residential care unit within the nursing facility. Operating Costs. Operating costs include, but are not limited to, the following reported costs: plant, operations and maintenance; dietary; laundry; housekeeping; ward clerks and medical records librarian; medical director; advisory physician; Utilization Review Committee; employee physical exams; other physician services; house medical supplies not resold; pharmacy consultant; social service worker; indirect restorative and recreation therapy expense; other required education; job related education; quality assurance professionals; Management Minute Questionnaire nurses; staff development coordinator; motor vehicle expenses including, but not limited to, depreciation, mileage payments, repairs, insurance, excise taxes, finance charges, and sales tax; and administrative and general costs. Opioid Treatment Program (OTP). A program that provides opioid treatment services. An opioid treatment program must be federally certified by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and must be licensed as an opioid treatment program by the Department of Public Health under 105 CMR 164.000: Licensure of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs. Opioid treatment programs must conform to the federal opioid treatment standards in 42 CFR 8.12: Federal Opioid Treatment Standards. Opioid Treatment Services. Supervised assessment and treatment of an individual using FDA- approved medications (including methadone, buprenorphine, buprenorphine/naloxone, and naltrexone), along with a comprehensive range of medical and rehabilitative services, when clinically necessary, to alleviate the adverse medical, psychological or physical effects incident to opioid use disorder. Opioid treatment services encompass withdrawal management services and maintenance treatment. Patient Days. The total number of days of occupancy by residents in the facility. The day of admission is included in the computation of patient days; the day of discharge is not included. If admission and discharge occur on the same day, one resident day is included in the computation. It includes days for which a provider reserves a vacant bed for a publicly aided resident temporarily placed in a different care situation, pursuant to an agreement between the provider and the MassHealth agency. It also includes days for which a bed is held vacant and reserved for a non- publicly aided resident. Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM). The case mix classification system provided by CMS to classify nursing facility patients into payment groups. Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) Nursing Case Mix. One of the five case-mix adjusted components of the CMS Patient Driven Payment Model. Private Nursing Facility. A nursing facility that formerly served only non-Medicaid residents and does not have a provider agreement with the MassHealth agency to provide services to public residents. Provider. A nursing facility providing care to publicly aided residents or industrial accident residents. Prudent Buyer Concept. The assumption that a purchase price that exceeds the market price for a supply or service is an unreasonable cost. Publicly Aided Resident. A person for whom care in a nursing facility is in whole or in part subsidized by the Commonwealth or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth. Publicly aided residents do not include residents whose care is in whole or in part subsidized by Medicare. Rate Year. The 12-month period from October 1st through September 30th. Related Party. An individual or organization associated or affiliated with, or that has control of, or is controlled by, the provider; or is related to the provider, or any director, stockholder, trustee, partner, or administrator of the provider by common ownership or control or in a manner specified in §§ 267(b) and (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 provided, however, that 10% is the operative factor as set out in §§ 267(b)(2) and (3). Related individuals include spouses, parents, children, spouses of children, grandchildren, siblings, fathers-in-law, mothers-in-law, brothers-in- law, and sisters-in-law. Replacement Facility. A nursing facility that replaces its entire building with a newly constructed facility pursuant to an approved determination of need under 105 CMR 100.000: Determination of Need. A facility that renovates a building previously licensed as a nursing facility is not a replacement facility. Reported Costs. All costs reported in the cost report. Required Education. Educational activities, conducted by a recognized school or authorized organization, required to maintain a professional license of employees that provide care to publicly aided residents. Required education also includes training for nurses’ aides. Residential Care. The minimum basic care and services and protective supervision required by the Department of Public Health in accordance with 105 CMR 150.000: Licensing of Long-term Care Facilities for residents who do not routinely require nursing or other medically related services. Residential Care Unit. A unit within a nursing facility licensed by the Department of Public Health to provide residential care. State Fiscal Year (SFY). The 12-month period from July 1st through June 30th. Unit. A unit is an identifiable section of a nursing facility such as a wing, floor, or ward as defined in 105 CMR 150.000: Licensing of Long-term Care Facilities.