Maryland law (SB509/HB288) requires the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC), when evaluating a notice of acquisition or transfer of interest of a nursing home, to provide specified written findings and recommendations to the Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ). The Secretary of Health must consider MHCC's findings and recommendations before taking action to approve, deny, approve with conditions, or revoke a nursing home license.
By December 1, 2023, MHCC, in consultation with specified stakeholders, must
- Complete a specified study regarding the expansion of the Certificate of Need (CON) program over the acquisition of nursing homes and
- Submit a specified report to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Health and Government Operations Committee.
The bill's provisions relating to the required study and report take effect July 1, 2023.
Senate Bill 509 - Health Care Facilities - Nursing Homes - Acquisitions and Licensure
Work Group Co-Chairs and Members
Jeanne-Marie Gawel, Acting Chief, Certificate of Need
Stacy Howes, Chief, Long Term Care and Health Benefit Plan Quality Initiatives
COMAR: COMAR 10.24.20 State Health Plan for Facilities and Services: Comprehensive Care Facilities
GAO Nursing Homes: CMS Should Make Ownership Information More Transparent for Consumers January 2023
JAMA Health Forum: Association of Private Equity Investment in US Nursing Homes with the Quality and Cost of Care for Long-Stay Residents November 19, 2021
The Wall Street Journal: The Upheaval at America's Disappearing Nursing Homes, in Charts August 23, 2023
White House Fact Sheet: Protecting Seniors by Improving Safety and Quality of Care in the Nation's Nursing Homes February 28, 2022
Washington Post: An investment firm snapped up nursing homes during the pandemic. Employees say care suffered. December 2020
CMS Provider Data Catalog: Nursing Homes including rehab services datasets Ownership updated June 1, 2023