HB0173eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0173 Engrossed LRB100 03844 KTG 13849 b

AN ACT concerning public aid.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by changing Section 5B-4 as follows:

(305 ILCS 5/5B-4) (from Ch. 23, par. 5B-4)

Sec. 5B-4. Payment of assessment; penalty.

(a) The assessment imposed by Section 5B-2 shall be due and payable monthly, on the last State business day of the month for occupied bed days reported for the preceding third month prior to the month in which the tax is payable and due, except as described by the criteria in subsection (b). A facility that has delayed payment due to the State's failure to reimburse for services rendered may request an extension on the due date for payment pursuant to subsection (b) and shall pay the assessment within 30 days of reimbursement by the Department. The Illinois Department may provide that county nursing homes directed and maintained pursuant to Section 5-1005 of the Counties Code may meet their assessment obligation by certifying to the Illinois Department that county expenditures have been obligated for the operation of the county nursing home in an amount at least equal to the amount of the assessment.

(a-5) The Illinois Department shall provide for an electronic submission process for each long-term care facility to report at a minimum the number of occupied bed days of the long-term care facility for the reporting period and other reasonable information the Illinois Department requires for the administration of its responsibilities under this Code. Beginning July 1, 2013, a separate electronic submission shall be completed for each long-term care facility in this State operated by a long-term care provider. The Illinois Department shall prepare an assessment bill stating the amount due and payable each month and submit it to each long-term care facility via an electronic process. Each assessment payment shall be accompanied by a copy of the assessment bill sent to the long-term care facility by the Illinois Department. To the extent practicable, the Department shall coordinate the assessment reporting requirements with other reporting required of long-term care facilities.

(b) Delay of payment.

(1) Nonpayment delay. Payments of assessments shall be automatically delayed for any month for which payment for all Medicaid bed days has not been received by a facility from the Department, a Medicaid managed care organization, or any entity authorized by the Department to make payments on its behalf until at least 30 days have elapsed since the receipt of payment. The Department shall establish, by rule, a process for the determination of delayed payment dates that shall include, at a minimum, notice requirements, but shall not require the facility to apply and be approved for a delay of payment due to nonpayment nor shall any other criteria for the delay be imposed.

(2) Hardship deferral. The Illinois Department is authorized to establish delayed payment schedules for long-term care providers that are unable to make assessment payments when due under this Section due to financial difficulties, based on criteria established as determined by the Illinois Department. The Illinois Department may not deny a request for delay of payment of the assessment imposed under this Article if the long-term care provider has not been paid for services provided during the month on which the assessment is levied.

(c) If a long-term care provider fails to pay the full amount of an assessment payment when due (including any extensions granted under subsection (b)), there shall, unless waived by the Illinois Department for reasonable cause, be added to the assessment imposed by Section 5B-2 a penalty assessment equal to the lesser of (i) 5% of the amount of the assessment payment not paid on or before the due date plus 5% of the portion thereof remaining unpaid on the last day of each month thereafter or (ii) 100% of the assessment payment amount not paid on or before the due date. For purposes of this subsection, payments will be credited first to unpaid assessment payment amounts (rather than to penalty or interest), beginning with the most delinquent assessment payments. Payment cycles of longer than 60 days shall be one factor the Director takes into account in granting a waiver under this Section.

(c-5) If a long-term care facility fails to file its assessment bill with payment, there shall, unless waived by the Illinois Department for reasonable cause, be added to the assessment due a penalty assessment equal to 25% of the assessment due. After July 1, 2013, no penalty shall be assessed under this Section if the Illinois Department does not provide a process for the electronic submission of the information required by subsection (a-5).

(d) Nothing in this amendatory Act of 1993 shall be construed to prevent the Illinois Department from collecting all amounts due under this Article pursuant to an assessment imposed before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1993.

(e) Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall be construed to prevent the Illinois Department from collecting all amounts due under this Code pursuant to an assessment, tax, fee, or penalty imposed before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly.

(f) No installment of the assessment imposed by Section 5B-2 shall be due and payable until after the Department notifies the long-term care providers, in writing, that the payment methodologies to long-term care providers required under Section 5-5.4 of this Code have been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the waivers under 42 CFR 433.68 for the assessment imposed by this Section, if necessary, have been granted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Upon notification to the Department of approval of the payment methodologies required under Section 5-5.4 of this Code and the waivers granted under 42 CFR 433.68, all installments otherwise due under Section 5B-4 prior to the date of notification shall be due and payable to the Department upon written direction from the Department within 90 days after issuance by the Comptroller of the payments required under Section 5-5.4 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 96-444, eff. 8-14-09; 96-1530, eff. 2-16-11; 97-10, eff. 6-14-11; 97-403, eff. 1-1-12; 97-584, eff. 8-26-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.