126th MAINE LEGISLATURE
LD 1776 LR 2744(10)
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Study Long-term Care Facilities
Fiscal Note for Senate Amendment " " to Committee Amendment "A"
Sponsor: Sen. Hill of York
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
             
Fiscal Note
Legislative Cost/Study
FY 2013-14 FY 2014-15 Projections  FY 2015-16 Projections  FY 2016-17
Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund $0 ($12,056,918) ($12,056,857) ($12,053,857)
Appropriations/Allocations
General Fund $0 ($12,056,918) ($12,056,857) ($12,053,857)
Federal Expenditures Fund $0 ($15,677,903) ($23,296,680) ($23,296,680)
Other Special Revenue Funds $0 ($1,460,833) ($2,170,734) ($2,170,734)
Revenue
Other Special Revenue Funds $0 ($1,460,833) ($2,170,734) ($2,170,734)
Legislative Cost/Study
This amendment removes the Blue Ribbon Commission on Long-term Care from the bill.  The Blue Ribbon Commission had projected costs of $1,250 in fiscal year 2013-14 and $2,000 in fiscal year 2014-15. The Blue Ribbon Commission was authorized to seek outside funding for staffing and expert consultant services and could not meet unless these funds are raised and approved by the Legislative Council.
Fiscal Detail and Notes
This fiscal note reflects the incremental impact of this amendment compared to the Committee Amendment.  The amended bill provides one-time appropriations totaling $4,709,840 in fiscal year 2014-15 in the Nursing Facilities program in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for increased MaineCare payments to nursing facilities and for adjustments to funding to reflect increased nursing home tax collections. The additional $709,901 in nursing home provider taxes that would be collected as a result of the increased payments are reflected in adjustments to appropriations and allocations. 
The amended bill also includes a one-time deappropriation of $4 million in fiscal year 2014-15 in the Medical Care- Payments to Providers program for recovery of overpayments to providers due to errors in calculating cost-of-care and for continued proper application of cost-of-care rules.  DHHS has indicated it had cost-of-care collections of $10.4 million in fiscal year 2012-13 and expects to recover $13.9 million in fiscal year 2013-14 and $9.0 million in fiscal year 2014-15.  DHHS has also indicated these recoveries have been included in their MaineCare shortfall forecast used to prepare the 2014-2015 supplemental budget request.  Accordingly, additional recoveries or savings above these amounts would be necessary to meet the $4 million deappropriation.