(1)__Pay directly to the facility the resident's income or other assets in an amount sufficient to ensure payment of all financial obligations to the facility and to carry out payment through direct deposit or electronic transfer means;

(2)__Designate the facility as the representative payee for Social Security payments or other income sources;

(3)__Otherwise apply the resident's resources to fulfill the resident's obligations; or

(4)__Restore to the facility any financial resources of the resident that the resident's legal representative has improperly diverted to other purposes.

I. No contract or agreement may contain a provision which that provides for the payment of attorneys' attorney's fees or any other cost of collecting payments from the resident, except that attorney's fees and costs may be collected against any agent under a power of attorney who breaches the agent's fiduciary duty as set forth in Title 18-A, section 5-508.

SUMMARY

This bill provides that a nursing facility or a private nonmedical institution is entitled to reimbursement through the MaineCare program to provide a return on equity capital. It requires the Department of Health and Human Services to include in its calculation of reimbursement for services provided by nursing facilities an allowance for the cost of a medical director. It allows a nursing facility to enter into a contract with a resident or a resident's legal representative that provides that payment of the nursing facility's services is the highest priority for the application of a resident's financial resources. It provides that if timely payment has not been made to the nursing facility, the resident or resident's legal representative may be obligated to pay the resident's income or other assets directly to the nursing facility, including through direct deposit or electronic transfer means; to designate the nursing facility as the representative payee for Social Security or other payments; to otherwise apply the resident's resources to fulfill the resident's obligations; or to pay to the nursing facility money that has been improperly diverted. The bill