HF2771

Purpose of the Bill

The bill aims to regulate how private equity companies can acquire nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Minnesota. It seeks to ensure that these acquisitions do not negatively impact the residents, quality of care, or financial stability of such facilities.

Main Provisions

• Notice and Approval: Nursing homes and assisted living facilities must provide a 120-day advance notice to the Attorney General, Commissioner of Health, and Commissioner of Human Services before transferring ownership or control to a private equity company. The Attorney General must approve any such acquisition, ensuring it won't negatively impact residents.

• Information Requirements: Private equity companies must submit detailed information about their ownership, corporate structure, financial status, and history of legal actions or complaints.

• Prohibition and Conditions: Private equity companies are prohibited from undermining the professional judgment of healthcare workers, engaging in unequal treatment based on payment methods, or degrading the quality or access to care. After acquiring a facility, companies must invest in maintaining and improving facilities without causing undue increases in costs to residents.

• Financial Commitment: Companies must spend at least 75% of public funding on direct care and offer severance pay to laid-off employees unless reductions are due to a decline in resident numbers.

• Regular Reporting: Acquiring companies are required to submit annual reports detailing financial status, quality of care, staffing changes, and political spending related to healthcare.

• Attorney General's Role: The Attorney General has the authority to investigate acquisitions and ensure ongoing compliance, with the power to impose additional requirements as necessary. The Attorney General will also study the impact of private equity ownership over time and report findings by February 2026.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• The bill creates new sections in Minnesota law regulating the acquisition of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, introducing the requirement for state approval and extensive documentation from private equity companies.

• It expands the definition of "controlling person" and "controlling individual" to ensure thorough oversight of who is gaining control over these facilities.

• The bill ensures that private equity companies in control of such facilities are financially viable and committed to maintaining quality care standards before and after the acquisition.

Relevant Terms

• Private equity
• Nursing home
• Assisted living facility
• Controlling person
• Financial regulation
• Quality of care
• Consumer protection
• Attorney General approval
• Health care facilities
• Direct care expenditure