Section 19a-561 - Nursing facility management services. Certification. Initial applications and biennial renewals. Investigation. Disciplinary action(a) As used in this section, (1) "nursing facility management services" means services provided in a nursing facility to manage the operations of such facility, including the provision of care and services, (2) "nursing facility management services certificate holder" means a person or entity certified by the Department of Public Health to provide nursing facility management services, and (3) "managed facility" means a nursing facility that receives nursing facility management services from a nursing facility management services certificate holder.(b) No person or entity shall provide nursing facility management services in this state without obtaining a certificate from the Department of Public Health.(c) Any person or entity seeking a certificate to provide nursing facility management services shall apply to the department, in writing, on a form and in the manner prescribed by the department. Such application shall include the following: (1)(A) The name and business address of the applicant and whether the applicant is an individual, partnership, corporation or other legal entity; (B) if the applicant is a partnership, corporation or other legal entity, the names of the officers, directors, trustees, managing and general partners of the applicant, the names of the persons who have a five per cent or greater beneficial ownership interest in the partnership, corporation or other legal entity, and a description of each such person's relationship to the applicant; (C) if the applicant is a corporation incorporated in another state, a certificate of good standing from the state agency with jurisdiction over corporations in such state; and (D) if the applicant currently provides nursing facility management services in another state, a certificate of good standing from the licensing agency with jurisdiction over public health for each state in which such services are provided;(2) A description of the applicant's nursing facility management experience;(3) An affidavit signed by the applicant and any of the persons described in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection disclosing any matter in which the applicant or such person (A) has been convicted of an offense classified as a felony under section 53a-25 or pleaded nolo contendere to a felony charge, or (B) has been held liable or enjoined in a civil action by final judgment, if the felony or civil action involved fraud, embezzlement, fraudulent conversion or misappropriation of property, or (C) is subject to a currently effective injunction or restrictive or remedial order of a court of record at the time of application, or (D) within the past five years has had any state or federal license or permit suspended or revoked as a result of an action brought by a governmental agency or department, arising out of or relating to business activity or health care, including, but not limited to, actions affecting the operation of a nursing facility, residential care home or any facility subject to sections 17b-520 to 17b-535, inclusive, or a similar statute in another state or country; and(4) The location and description of any nursing facility in this state or another state in which the applicant or a beneficial owner of the applicant currently provides management services or has provided such services or is currently or has been the owner, operator or administrator within the past five years and whether any such facility has been subject to:(A) Three or more civil penalties imposed through final order of the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of sections 19a-524 to 19a-528, inclusive, or civil penalties imposed pursuant to the laws or regulations of another state during the two-year period preceding the date on which such application is submitted;(B) Sanctions, other than civil penalties less than or equal to twenty thousand dollars, imposed in any state through final adjudication under the Medicare or Medicaid program pursuant to Title XVIII or XIX of the federal Social Security Act, 42 USC 301, as amended from time to time; or(C) Termination or nonrenewal of a Medicare or Medicaid provider agreement.(d) In addition to the information provided pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the department may reasonably request to review the applicant's audited and certified financial statements, which shall remain the property of the applicant when used for either initial or renewal certification under this section.(e) Each application for a certificate to provide nursing facility management services shall be accompanied by an application fee of three hundred dollars. The certificate shall list each location at which nursing facility management services may be provided by the holder of the certificate. The nursing facility management services certificate holder shall request the approval of the Department of Public Health to provide nursing facility management services not later than thirty days in advance of providing services to a nursing facility not listed on its certificate. The department may grant said approval subject to conditions or deny such approval based upon the compliance with state and federal regulatory requirements by the nursing facilities managed by the holder of the certificate.(f) The department shall base its decision on whether to issue or renew a certificate on the information presented and otherwise available to the department and on the compliance status of the managed facilities. The department may deny certification to any applicant for the provision of nursing facility management services (1) if the applicant fails to provide the information required under subsection (c) of this section, or (2) if the department determines that the applicant or a beneficial owner of the applicant has an unacceptable history of past and current compliance with state licensure requirements, applicable federal requirements and state regulatory requirements for each licensed health care facility owned, operated or managed by the applicant or a beneficial owner of the applicant in the United States or any territory of the United States during the five years preceding the date on which such application is submitted, as evidenced by:(A) Any such licensed health care facility being subject to any adverse action described in subdivision (4) of subsection (c) of this section;(B) Any such licensed health care facility having continuing violations or a pattern of violations of state licensure standards or federal certification standards; or(C) Criminal conviction of, or a guilty plea by, an applicant or beneficial owner of an applicant on or to a charge of fraud, patient or resident abuse or neglect or a crime of violence or moral turpitude.(g) Renewal applications shall be made biennially after (1) submission of the information required by subsection (c) of this section and any other information required by the department, and (2) submission of evidence satisfactory to the department that any nursing facility at which the applicant provides nursing facility management services has been and currently is in substantial compliance with federal regulatory requirements, the provisions of this chapter, the Public Health Code and licensing regulations, and (3) payment of a three-hundred-dollar fee.(h) In any case in which the Commissioner of Public Health finds that there has been a substantial failure by one or more managed facilities to comply with state licensure requirements, applicable federal requirements and state regulatory requirements or a substantial failure by a nursing facility management services certificate holder managing such facilities to comply with the requirements for such certificate holder established under this section, the commissioner may initiate and impose disciplinary action against a nursing facility management services certificate holder pursuant to section 19a-494. If three or more facilities managed by a nursing facility management services certificate holder are subject to civil penalties imposed through final order of the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of sections 19a-524 to 19a-528, inclusive, during a twelve-month period, the commissioner may impose a civil penalty on the nursing facility management services certificate holder of not more than twenty thousand dollars. The procedure for imposition of said penalty shall be in accordance with subsection (b) of section 19a-494.(i) The department may limit or restrict the provision of management services by any nursing facility management services certificate holder against whom disciplinary action has been initiated under subsection (h) of this section.(j) The department, in implementing the provisions of this section, may conduct any inquiry or investigation, in accordance with the provisions of section 19a-498, regarding an applicant or certificate holder.(k) In any case in which the commissioner finds that there has been a substantial failure to comply with the requirements established under this chapter, or regulations adopted thereunder, the commissioner may require the nursing facility licensee and the nursing facility management service certificate holder to jointly submit a plan of correction as described in section 19a-496 . A plan of correction accepted by the department shall constitute an order of the department. Violation of such order may be the subject of disciplinary action against a nursing facility management services certificate holder pursuant to section 19a-494 .(l) Any person or entity providing nursing facility management services without the certificate required under this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each day that the services are provided without such certificate.Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-561
( P.A. 06-195 , S. 23 ; P.A. 07-252 , S. 14 ; P.A. 10-117 , S. 9 ; P.A. 14-231 , S. 7 .)
Amended by P.A. 24-0141,S. 12 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2024 Regular Session, eff. 6/4/2024.Amended by P.A. 14-0231, S. 7 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2014 Regular Session, eff. 10/1/2014.Amended by P.A. 10-0117, S. 9 of the February 2010 Regular Session, eff. 10/1/2010.