NAC449.74423. Certain conditions for admission prohibited.

A facility for skilled nursing shall not, as a condition of admitting or providing for the expedited admission of a patient to, or allowing a patient to remain in, the facility:

     1. Require a patient to waive his or her rights to benefits under any state or federal program that is available to assist patients in the payment of services provided by the facility, including, without limitation, Medicaid and Medicare.

     2. Require a patient to provide a written or oral confirmation that he or she is not eligible for or will not apply for benefits under such a program.

     3. Charge, solicit, accept or receive any gift, money, contribution or other consideration on behalf of a patient who is eligible for benefits under such a program in addition to any amount otherwise required to be paid to the facility under the program. The provisions of this subsection do not prohibit a facility from:

     (a) Charging such a patient for an item or service not covered under the program if:

          (1) The item or service is requested by the patient;

          (2) The facility does not require the patient to request the item or service as a condition of admission to or remaining in the facility; and

          (3) The facility informs the patient that there will be a charge for the item or service and the amount of the charge.

     (b) Soliciting, accepting or receiving a charitable, religious or philanthropic contribution from an organization or a person who is unrelated to the patient, but only to the extent that the contribution is not a condition of admitting or providing for the expedited admission of the patient to, or allowing the patient to remain in, the facility.

     4. Require a third person to guarantee the payment of fees charged by the facility for services provided to the patient. The provisions of this subsection do not prohibit the facility from requiring a person who has legal control over the income or other resources of the patient to enter into a contract, without incurring personal liability, for the payment of fees charged by the facility for services provided to the patient.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Health by R051-99, eff. 9-27-99)