MA S496

Nursing home administrators must certify under penalty of perjury at the start of each fiscal year that their facility's budget and staffing are sufficient to meet all residents' care needs, with counter-signature required from the medical director

Administrators who fail to sign the budget sufficiency affidavit face automatic license suspension by the Board of Registration of Nursing Home Administrators, and cannot claim corporate budget approval as a defense

Facilities operating without a signed sufficiency affidavit are prohibited from accepting new residents until the certification is submitted to the Department of Public Health

Department of Public Health may apply sanctions up to license revocation or receivership after public hearing if a facility's budget is found insufficient to meet resident care needs

Adverse events resulting from insufficient budgets create criminal and civil liability for administrators/medical directors who signed the affidavit, or for facility owners if no affidavit was signed; implementing regulations due by July 1, 2027