SECTION 1. Section 73 of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 14, the word “fifty” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $10,000

SECTION 2.  Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, the center for health information and analysis, in consultation with the office of Medicaid, the department of elder affairs, and the health policy commission, shall conduct an examination of cost trends and financial performance among nursing facilities, as defined by 957 CMR 7.02. The information shall be analyzed on an institution-specific, provider organization, and industry-wide basis and shall include, but not be limited to: (i) gross and net patient service revenues; (ii) other sources of operating and non-operating revenue; (iii) trends in relative price, payer mix, case mix, utilization, and length of stay dating back to 2010; (iv) affiliations with other health care providers, including, but not limited to, preferred clinical relationships and partnerships; (v) categories of costs, including, but not limited to, general and administrative costs, nursing and other labor costs and salaries, building costs, capital costs, and other operating costs; (vi) total spending on direct patient care as a percent of total operating expenses; (vii) operating and total margin; (viii) occupancy rates, and (ix) other relevant measures of financial performance and service delivery. These measures should distinguish long-term from short-stay residents where possible.

The report and any recommendations for legislation shall be filed with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, and the joint committee on elder affairs not later than January 1, 2019.