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An Act To Amend the Nursing Facility Licensing Rules To Enhance Cost of Care Collection
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §1826, sub-§2, ¶J  is enacted to read:
 
J.  Each contract or agreement must contain a provision that requires a resident's agent who has legal access to a resident's income or financial resources to pay for facility services for the resident from the resident's financial resources, except that the resident's agent may not be held personally liable for the resident's facility expenses.
Sec. 2. Department of Health and Human Services; standard admission contract; rulemaking. The Department of Health and Human Services shall, no later than January 1, 2021, amend its rules in Chapter 110: Regulations Governing the Licensing and Functioning of Skilled Nursing Facilities and Nursing Facilities to modify the standard admission contract for residents of nursing homes to make the following changes:
1. Include a provision that requires a resident's agent who has legal access to a resident's income or financial resources to pay for nursing facility services for the resident from the resident's financial resources, except that the resident's agent may not be held personally liable for the resident's facility expenses; and
2. Include a provision that provides that, if a resident's agent fails in the agent's obligation to ensure that the nursing facility is timely paid for the costs of a resident's monthly care or fails to perform any of the agent's obligations described in the contract, in addition to any other legal remedy the nursing facility may possess, the nursing facility may pursue a legal action against the agent in Probate Court or District Court for review of the agent's performance. In addition to other relief that the nursing facility may request from the court under such action, the nursing facility may also include a request for attorney's fees and costs.
Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to amend its nursing facility rules, Chapter 110: Regulations Governing the Licensing and Functioning of Skilled Nursing Facilities and Nursing Facilities, to modify the standard admission contract for the residents of nursing homes to specifically include a requirement for a resident's legal agent to use the resident's financial resources to pay for nursing facility services and to clarify that a nursing facility seeking relief when a resident's agent fails to perform the agent's obligations may also request attorney's fees and costs. The department is required to amend the rule no later than January 1, 2021.