Sec. 9. 22 MRSA §2149, sub-§3 is enacted to read:

3.__Rules to reduce funds prohibited.__The department is prohibited from adopting rules to reduce the amount of funds allocated from the Medicaid program to home health care services.

Sec. 10. 22 MRSA §3174-I, sub-§1, ķE-1 is enacted to read:

E-1.__If the department, in implementing periodic reassessments of residents under this section, imposes on nursing facilities the obligation to request reassessment of a resident on a due date set by the department, penalties for failure or delay in meeting that obligation must be limited in accordance with this paragraph.__The department may not impose penalties for failure or delay in requesting reassessments that exceed 10% of the reimbursement that would otherwise be paid for the services rendered to the resident for whom a reassessment is overdue during the period between the due date set by the department and the date on which the reassessment request is made.__If, upon reassessment, the resident is determined no longer medically eligible under the standards duly adopted in the department's rules, then the reimbursement otherwise payable by the department for the services provided after the reassessment due date may be reduced to the rate provided in the department's rules for days awaiting placement to a residential care facility.__When a resident is determined medically eligible upon reassessment, the resident is presumed to have been medically eligible during the period between the due date for the reassessment and the date on which the reassessment was actually conducted, unless the department establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the nursing facility intentionally deferred its request for reassessment of the resident for the purpose of avoiding a determination of medical ineligibility.

Sec. 11. 22 MRSA §7902-A, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 670, Pt. A, §8 and affected by Pt. D, §5, is amended to read:

4. Residential care rules. The commissioner shall adopt rules for the various levels of residential care facilities. In addition to the subject matter of the rules listed in subsection 2, the rules must include criteria for placement of residents who are 17 years of age or older and under 18 years of age and must provide for the calculation of the maximum amount of reimbursable routine costs based on data from the year 1997. In establishing