DSS backs targeted exceptions to nursing‑home bed moratorium; providers urge careful rate and audit language

Deputy Commissioner Shantel Vars and DSS fiscal manager Nicole Godburn described Senate Bill 288 as a narrowly tailored way to preserve local access to nursing‑home services while preserving decades‑old rightsizing and rebalancing policies. Godburn said the statute’s goal is to keep residents in their communities (current statute uses a 15‑mile access standard) and to provide limited exceptions where occupancy and access become constrained, especially in rural parts of the state.

DSS said it seeks timely access to MDS (minimum data set) information and auditing authority to protect Medicaid dollars and ensure quality. DSS emphasized it does not intend to undo prior rightsizing work but wants tools to expand capacity only where necessary.

Provider groups (LeadingAge, Connecticut Association of Healthcare Facilities) and other witnesses generally supported limited moratorium openings but raised technical objections. LeadingAge asked the committee to reject proposed changes that would limit facilities' ability to provide documentation in MDS audits. Providers also asked for rate‑model details related to a planned July 1, 2026 move to PDPM‑aligned acuity measures and flagged proposed stop‑loss protections that — as written in testimony — could permit deep per‑diem reductions for some facilities without clearer guardrails.

Committee members asked DSS to provide detailed rate models and pledged further review; no final statutory action was taken at the hearing.