Maine – Simplifying the Legal Environment
Two matching bills have been recently introduced in Maine:
An Act To Clarify Inspection Requirements For Hospitals And Certain Nursing Facilities, and
An Act To Amend The Inspection Requirement For Facilities For Children And Adults With A National Accreditation
This bill removes the requirement for nursing facilities providing both nursing home and assisted living services to receive a single coordinated licensing and fire code inspection.
The bill provides that a hospital is exempt from inspection by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services if it submits to the department a copy of its accreditation survey results completed by a health care facility accrediting organization, including a statement of any deficiencies and corresponding plan of correction.
Simultaneously, the Maine legislation introduced another bill that would simplify Inspection Requirement For Facilities For Children And Adults With A National Accreditation.
Current Maine law provides that if a person, firm, corporation or association operating a residential care facility, assisted housing program, drug treatment center, children’s home, child-placing agency, child care facility or adult daycare program has received and maintained accreditation from a national accreditation body approved by the department, the entity must be deemed in compliance with state licensing rules.
This bill provides instead that the entity may be determined by the department to be in compliance with state licensing rules.