DHEC tables plan to increase fees for residential homes

A state agency has dropped its proposal to double a fee on businesses that operate residential care homes.

After hearing numerous complaints, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control said Wednesday it would not pass a proposal to raise its fee for residential home operators to $20 per bed. The agency said the fee would have raised about $340,000 per year for its oversight program, which is still only half of the program’s budget.

Operators at Wednesday’s hearings said the proposed fee increase, when multiplied with a large number of beds, could put them out of business. The state Department of Mental Health was also critical of the increase, which it would also have to pay. DHEC said it would look at revising the increase to a lower amount.

Even if the board raises the fee, it would still have to be approved by the legislature, which rejected a similar increase last year.