Senate Bill 373 Summary

• Establishes a voluntary third party dispute resolution process allowing health facilities to appeal deficiency findings in state department of health survey reports.

• Requires the state department to contract with an independent third party to conduct the dispute resolution process and include provisions from 42 CFR 488.331.

• Health facilities must submit a plan of correction and written request for dispute resolution within 10 calendar days of receiving the deficiency statement, with the third party conducting a review within 30 days of request.

• The third party contractor must make a determination within 30 business days and provide written notice with rationale to both the health facility and state department; the state department may reverse the determination with written justification within 10 calendar days.

• Requires the state department and third party contractor to report statistical data on the process to the select joint commission on Medicaid oversight every six months, effective July 1, 2010.