Bill > SF531

This bill modifies the rules for what expenses nursing facilities can include in their financial and statistical reports submitted to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. The bill prohibits nursing facilities from claiming certain costs in their reports, including association membership dues, lobbying expenses, unused retainers, employee-related fees, and most legal and consulting fees. However, the bill does allow some professional and legal expenses to be reported under specific conditions. For professional fees, they must be directly related to patient care and individually itemized in cost reports. For legal expenses, they can be included if the expense has been paid, is reasonable, falls within specific hourly rate limits (ranging from $68 to $78 per hour depending on the violation type), the facility made a good-faith effort to settle the dispute before legal proceedings, and the facility ultimately prevailed in the challenged deficient practice. These changes aim to ensure that nursing facilities' financial reports more accurately reflect the actual costs of providing patient care and discourage unnecessary or excessive spending.

Health and Social Services

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=91&ba=SF531