26:2H-7.6 Requirements for subacute care unit.

3. a. A hospital which proposes to utilize a portion of its licensed bed capacity for the purpose of establishing a subacute care unit shall be subject to the following requirements:

(1) the subacute care unit's beds shall be licensed by the Department of Health as long-term care beds and shall meet all applicable State licensing and federal certification requirements, including the physical requirements for skilled nursing beds under the federal Medicare program established pursuant to Pub.L.89-97 (42 U.S.C.s.1395 et seq.), with reasonable waiver provisions as determined by the commissioner or the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as appropriate;

(2) the maximum length of stay in the unit shall not exceed eight days;

(3) the unit shall be certified to participate in the Medicare program as a skilled nursing facility;

(4) the unit shall be comprised of not more than 7% of the hospital's licensed medical-surgical bed capacity or 12 beds, whichever is greater;

(5) the hospital's licensed medical-surgical bed capacity shall be reduced, by the commissioner, by the number of beds used to establish a subacute care unit under the provisions of this section. Long-term care beds in a hospital's subacute care unit shall not be transferred to, or combined with, a subacute care unit in another hospital. Bed limitations for a hospital shall include both conversions of existing acute care beds and any purchases or other acquisitions or rentals of beds to be used by a hospital for the provision of subacute care under this act;

(6) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1998, c.43).

(7) the hospital shall be subject to the fee for the filing of an application for a license for long-term care beds and any renewal thereof as established by the Department of Health pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-12).

b. Subacute care shall not be covered by the Medicaid program established pursuant to P.L.1968, c.413 (C.30:4D-1 et seq.). The long-term care beds in a subacute care unit shall not be included in long-term care bed inventories for certificate of need review purposes.

L.1996, c.102, s.3; amended 1998, c.43, s.8; 2012, c.17, s.172.