Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §7926 is enacted to read:

§7926.__Separation of married couples prohibited

Except as otherwise provided, a long-term care facility that receives public funds may not transfer or refuse to admit the spouse of a resident or the spouse of a person who meets the qualifications to be a resident, if that spouse also qualifies for long-term care services offered by the facility, without the consent of each spouse or spouse's guardian or legal representative.__If a long-term care facility can not admit the spouse of a resident or the spouse of a person who meets the qualifications to be a resident because it lacks a bed, the facility shall ensure placement of both spouses in a single long- term care facility within 14 days.

SUMMARY

This bill would prohibit a husband and wife placed into nursing facilities that receive funding from the State from being placed into separate nursing facilities unless they so wished. Under the bill, a facility that can not admit the spouse of a resident must ensure placement together within 14 days.