Sec. 17b-244. (Formerly Sec. 17-313b). Payments to private facilities providing functional or vocational services for severely handicapped persons and payments for residential care. Establishment of r
Sec. 17b-244. (Formerly Sec. 17-313b). Payments to private facilities providing functional or vocational services for severely handicapped persons and payments for residential care. Establishment of rate. Regulations. (a) The room and
board component of the rates to be paid by the state to private facilities and facilities
operated by regional education service centers which are licensed to provide residential
care pursuant to section 17a-227, but not certified to participate in the Title XIX Medicaid program as intermediate care facilities for persons with mental retardation, shall be
determined annually by the Commissioner of Social Services, except that rates effective
April 30, 1989, shall remain in effect through October 31, 1989. Any facility with real
property other than land placed in service prior to July 1, 1991, shall, for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 1995, receive a rate of return on real property equal to the average of
the rates of return applied to real property other than land placed in service for the five
years preceding July 1, 1993. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1996, and any succeeding fiscal year, the rate of return on real property for property items shall be revised
every five years. The commissioner shall, upon submission of a request by such facility,
allow actual debt service, comprised of principal and interest, on the loan or loans in lieu
of property costs allowed pursuant to section 17-313b-5 of the regulations of Connecticut
state agencies, whether actual debt service is higher or lower than such allowed property
costs, provided such debt service terms and amounts are reasonable in relation to the
useful life and the base value of the property. In the case of facilities financed through
the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, the commissioner shall allow actual debt
service, comprised of principal, interest and a reasonable repair and replacement reserve
on the loan or loans in lieu of property costs allowed pursuant to section 17-313b-5 of
the regulations of Connecticut state agencies, whether actual debt service is higher or
lower than such allowed property costs, provided such debt service terms and amounts
are determined by the commissioner at the time the loan is entered into to be reasonable
in relation to the useful life and base value of the property. The commissioner may allow
fees associated with mortgage refinancing provided such refinancing will result in state
reimbursement savings, after comparing costs over the terms of the existing proposed
loans. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1992, the inflation factor used to determine
rates shall be one-half of the gross national product percentage increase for the period
between the midpoint of the cost year through the midpoint of the rate year. For fiscal
year ending June 30, 1993, the inflation factor used to determine rates shall be two-thirds of the gross national product percentage increase from the midpoint of the cost
year to the midpoint of the rate year. For the fiscal years ending June 30, 1996, and June
30, 1997, no inflation factor shall be applied in determining rates. The Commissioner
of Social Services shall prescribe uniform forms on which such facilities shall report
their costs. Such rates shall be determined on the basis of a reasonable payment for
necessary services. Any increase in grants, gifts, fund-raising or endowment income
used for the payment of operating costs by a private facility in the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1992, shall be excluded by the commissioner from the income of the facility
in determining the rates to be paid to the facility for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1993,
provided any operating costs funded by such increase shall not obligate the state to
increase expenditures in subsequent fiscal years. Nothing contained in this section shall
authorize a payment by the state to any such facility in excess of the charges made by
the facility for comparable services to the general public. The service component of the
rates to be paid by the state to private facilities and facilities operated by regional education service centers which are licensed to provide residential care pursuant to section
17a-227, but not certified to participate in the Title XIX Medicaid programs as intermediate care facilities for persons with mental retardation, shall be determined annually by
the Commissioner of Developmental Services in accordance with section 17b-244a. For
the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, no facility shall receive a rate that is more than
two per cent greater than the rate in effect for the facility on June 30, 2007, except any
facility that would have been issued a lower rate effective July 1, 2007, due to interim
rate status or agreement with the department, shall be issued such lower rate effective
July 1, 2007. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, no facility shall receive a rate
that is more than two per cent greater than the rate in effect for the facility on June 30,
2008, except any facility that would have been issued a lower rate effective July 1, 2008,
due to interim rate status or agreement with the department, shall be issued such lower
rate effective July 1, 2008.
(b) The Commissioner of Social Services and the Commissioner of Developmental
Services shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to
implement the provisions of this section.
(1971, P.A. 560, S. 1; P.A. 73-117, S. 26, 31; P.A. 79-227; 79-560, S. 28, 39; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-39, S. 1, 2, 18;
P.A. 84-546, S. 54, 173; P.A. 88-71; P.A. 89-325, S. 14, 26; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-8, S. 15, 63; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-11, S. 11, 25; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-16, S. 28, 89; P.A. 93-262, S. 1, 87; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-5, S. 11, 30; P.A. 95-160,
S. 65, 69; P.A. 96-139, S. 12, 13; 96-188, S. 1, 2; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3, S. 81; P.A. 05-256, S. 11; P.A. 07-73, S.
2(b); June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2, S. 13.)
History: P.A. 73-117 replaced hospital cost commission with committee established under Sec. 17-311; P.A. 79-227
replaced committee with commissioner of income maintenance, included payments to community residences and changed
Association for Retarded Children to Association for Retarded Citizens; P.A. 79-560 deleted reference to Sec. 17-311;
June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-39 provided for payment to private nonprofit facilities providing functional and vocational services
for severely handicapped persons and to private facilities operated by regional education service centers providing residential care and added Subsec. (b) re establishment of separate rate (Revisor's note: Subsec. (c) was added editorially by the
Revisors); P.A. 84-546 confirmed Revisors' action in editorially adding Subsec. (c) re adoption of regulations; P.A. 88-71 substantially rewrote section to empower commissioner of mental retardation to establish service component of rates
where previously commissioner of income maintenance had set all rates and commissioner of mental retardation had
performed a consultative role; P.A. 89-325 allowed rates in effect April 30, 1989, to remain in effect through October 31,
1989, and also deleted language re rates to be paid to private nonprofit facilities in Subsec. (a); June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-8
amended Subsec. (a) re rates paid by the state to private facilities providing functional or vocational services for severely
handicapped persons and clients of residential care facilities; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-11 amended Subsec. (a) to prohibit
the department of income maintenance from considering any grants, gifts, fund-raising or endowment income used during
the preceding year for payment of operating costs by a private facility in determining the facility's rates for fiscal year
1992-93; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-16 amended Subsec. (a) by providing that for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1993, the
inflation factor used to determine rates shall be two-thirds of the gross national product percentage increase from the
midpoint of the cost year to the midpoint of the rate year (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (a) in the sentence beginning "For
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1992," the words "period between the" were inserted before the word "midpoint" and the
words "cost year through the midpoint of the" were inserted before the words "rate year" editorially by the Revisors
to reinstate existing language omitted through clerical error); P.A. 93-262 authorized substitution of commissioner and
department of social services for commissioner and department of income maintenance, effective July 1, 1993; May Sp.
Sess. P.A. 94-5 amended Subsec. (a) to establish a formula for rates of return for real property for facilities with real
property other than land placed in service prior to July 1, 1991, effective July 1, 1994; Sec. 17-313b transferred to Sec.
17b-244 in 1995; P.A. 95-160 amended Subsec. (a) by adding a provision that for fiscal years ending June 30, 1996, and
June 30, 1997, no inflation factor shall be applied in determining rates, effective June 1, 1995; P.A. 96-139 changed
effective date of P.A. 95-160 but without affecting this section; P.A. 96-188 provided that the commissioner shall allow,
upon request of a facility, actual debt service whether higher or lower than allowed property costs, provided that, in the
case of facilities financed through the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, the commissioner shall allow actual debt
service whether higher or lower than allowed property costs, provided such debt service terms and amounts are determined
by the commissioner at the time the loan is entered into to be reasonable in relation to the useful life and base value of the
property and made a technical change, effective May 31, 1996; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3 amended Subsec. (a) to add
provision re allowance of fees associated with mortgage refinancing provided such refinancing results in state reimbursement savings, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 05-256 amended Subsec. (a) to include reference to Sec. 17b-244a, effective
July 1, 2005; pursuant to P.A. 07-73 "Commissioner of Mental Retardation" was changed editorially by the Revisors to
"Commissioner of Developmental Services", effective October 1, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2 amended Subsec. (a) by
providing that for fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, a facility shall receive a rate that is 2% greater than the rate in effect
for fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, and that for fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, a facility shall receive a rate that is 2%
greater than the rate in effect for fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, except any facility that would have been issued a lower
rate due to interim rate status or agreement with the department shall be issued such lower rate, effective July 1, 2007.