SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 38-E
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 812838
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 Senator Wasserman Schultz moved the following amendment:
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13 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
14 On page 91, between lines 21 and 22,
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16 insert:
17 Section 27. Medicaid per diem for nursing homes;
18 portion to benefit staff.--
19 (1) The Agency for Health Care Administration shall
20 require that a portion of a nursing home facility's Medicaid
21 per diem be earmarked for increases in the wages or benefits,
22 or both, of the facility's staff. This earmarked portion,
23 which is to be known by the term "wage pass-through," must be
24 sufficient to provide for an increase in the amount of $1 per
25 hour in wages or benefits, or both, for the facility's staff.
26 However, this section does not apply to any nursing home that
27 is owned by a political subdivision of the state.
28 (2) The wage pass-through funds must be used by
29 facilities for wage increases or benefit improvements, or
30 both, for eligible staff. As used in this subsection, the term
31 "eligible staff" includes all employees of the nursing home
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 38-E
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 812838
1 except the administrator and the director of nursing; however,
2 the term excludes agency, temporary, pool, or home-office
3 staff who are not directly employed by and assigned
4 exclusively to the facility. Wage or salary increases are
5 reimbursable; one-time bonuses are not. The wage pass-through
6 funds may be used to provide new or improved benefits for
7 staff but may not be used to defray the increased costs of
8 existing benefits such as increases in premiums for health
9 insurance.
10 (3) The agency shall develop systems for the
11 application and monitoring of the wage pass-through.
12 (4) This section takes effect July 1, 2002.
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14 (Redesignate subsequent sections.)
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17 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
18 And the title is amended as follows:
19 On page 4, line 23, following the semicolon
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21 insert:
22 providing that the Agency for Health Care
23 Administration must require that a portion of a
24 nursing home facility's per diem be earmarked
25 for increases in the wages or benefits, or
26 both, of eligible staff members; defining the
27 terms "wage pass-through" and "eligible staff";
28 providing exclusions; providing criteria for
29 reimbursement; providing agency duties and
30 responsibilities; providing applicability;
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