A 11326: Relates to the closure of nursing homes.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 11326  IN ASSEMBLY May 11, 2026 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Lee) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the closure of nursing homes The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2 2833 to read as follows: 3 § 2833. Closure of nursing homes. 1. In the event that an operator of 4 a nursing home elects to close the facility, the following shall apply: 5 (a) The operator shall submit written notice to the department at 6 least ninety days prior to the anticipated date of closure of the nurs- 7 ing home. 8 (b) The written notice shall include a proposed plan for closure of 9 the nursing home. The plan shall be subject to approval by the commis- 10 sioner, and shall include timetables for all steps in the closure proc- 11 ess and descriptions of the procedures and actions the operator will 12 take to: 13 (i) notify residents of the closure, including provisions for termi- 14 nation of admission agreements and involuntary discharge; 15 (ii) assess the needs and preferences of individual residents; 16 (iii) assist residents in locating and transferring to appropriate 17 alternative settings; and 18 (iv) maintain compliance with the provisions of this section and other 19 applicable laws and regulations until all residents have relocated. 20 (c) Copies of the written notice shall be concurrently delivered to: 21 (i) the chief executive officer and the presiding officer of the local 22 legislative body of each county, city, town or village in which the 23 nursing home is located, except a county wholly contained within a city; 24 (ii) the nursing home's residents' council; and 25 (iii) in a city with a population of one million or more people, the 26 community board in whose district the nursing home is located. Copies 27 of the written notice shall also be made available to the public on the 28 department's website, and the facility's website if it otherwise main- 29 tains a website. 30 (d) Such officer, legislative body or board may: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08071-03-6 
 A. 11326 2 1 (i) convene closed or public meetings, upon notice to the department 2 and the nursing home operator, that must conclude within forty-five days 3 of the operator's proposed notice of closure; 4 (ii) examine any information relevant to needs of the community and 5 the impact of the closure on stakeholders; and 6 (iii) make a non-binding recommendation to the commissioner as to 7 whether the application for closure should be approved, modified or 8 rejected. 9 2. (a) The operator shall take no action to close the nursing home 10 prior to approval by the commissioner of the plan for closure. 11 (b) The operator shall not close the nursing home until all residents 12 of the nursing home have transferred to appropriate alternative 13 settings. 14 (c) The operator shall not increase the amount of any fees or charges 15 or institute any new fees or charges payable by the residents of the 16 nursing home, their families or their insurance companies, if any, prior 17 to approval of the plan for closure. 18 (d) The operator shall not accept new residents, admissions, or trans- 19 fers for the nursing home, after the operator has submitted written 20 notice to the department that the operator intends to close the nursing 21 home, unless (i) each such new resident, admission or transfer is noti- 22 fied prior to acceptance of the intended date of closure, or (ii) the 23 operator's election to close the nursing home has been abandoned. 24 3. The commissioner may approve, modify or reject the proposed plan 25 for closure and may impose conditions on any approval. An approved plan 26 for closure shall: 27 (a) specify any modifications the department requires to the proposed 28 plan for closure; 29 (b) provide for the maintenance, storage, safekeeping, and ultimate 30 disposition of patient medical records and provide for transfer of or 31 access to such records to the patients, their treating health care 32 providers, or lawful representatives; and 33 (c) include a plan to ensure that arrangements will be made for 34 continued care that meets each resident's social, emotional and health 35 needs. 36 4. The department shall make a full copy of an approved closure plan 37 available to the public on the department's website and shall update the 38 posting should the plans change. 39 5. Failure of a nursing home operator to comply with any provision of 40 this section or the terms of any agreement with or conditions imposed by 41 the commissioner under this section shall result in the imposition of 42 penalties under this chapter. 43 6. Nothing in this section shall prevent the commissioner from order- 44 ing or expediting temporary or permanent closure of a nursing home if 45 the commissioner deems such closure necessary to protect the health and 46 safety of the residents due to the operator's financial distress, 47 mismanagement, or malfeasance, or other factors that cause the operator 48 to be unable to safely operate the nursing home. 49 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 50 become a law, and shall apply to all closures of nursing homes occurring 51 ninety days or more after such effective date. Effective immediately, 52 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces- 53 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 54 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.