Nursing facility licensed bed capacity reduction incentive payments

The department shall make an incentive payment, to the extent funds are available, to a nursing facility that offers to delicense beds based on criteria set forth in this chapter. 1. The department may pay an incentive: a. Up to fifteen thousand dollars per licensed nursing facility bed to a nursing facility that reduces all of its licensed bed capacity; b. Up to twelve thousand dollars per licensed nursing facility bed to a nursing facility that reduces its licensed nursing facility bed capacity by at least eight beds; or c. Up to eight thousand dollars per licensed nursing facility bed to a nursing facility that reduces its licensed nursing facility capacity by seven or fewer beds. 2. The department shall give priority for payment of incentives to facilities offering to reduce their entire licensed bed capacity. If offers exceed funds available, the department shall make a counteroffer to each facility. 3. If, after payment of incentives under subsection 2, funds are available, the department shall make incentive payments to facilities offering to delicense a portion of their licensed bed capacity. If offers exceed funds available, the department shall give priority to the lowest per bed offer. The department may have facilities resubmit offers if there are two or more offers for the same per bed amount. 4. The department shall request offers on a quarterly basis from nursing facilities to delicense nursing facility bed capacity to the extent funds are available. 5. To be eligible for an incentive payment, a nursing facility's offer to reduce bed capacity must be received by the department by the first day of the quarter for which incentives shall be approved. The effective date of all bed delicensing may not be later than the last day of the quarter following the quarter for which the incentive shall be approved. 6. Incentive payments may only be made for the delicensing of nursing facility bed capacity that is Medicaid-certified. 7. The department shall not pay incentives to nursing facilities for nursing facility beds that were delicensed prior to the first day of the quarter for which incentives shall be approved. 8. Incentive payments may not be paid until after the effective date of the reduction in licensed capacity. 9. An incentive may not be paid for nursing facility licensed bed capacity that is converted to basic care bed capacity. 10. No later than the first day of the second month of a quarter, the department shall inform all facilities that have submitted an offer by the first day of the quarter of the department's approval or disapproval of the offer. 11. The department's denial of an offer does not preclude a nursing facility from making future offers.