LCO No. 2391 1 of 5
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 447
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 2391
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E OFFICE OF HEALTH STRATEGY'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGA RDING VARIOUS REVISIONS TO
COMMUNITY BENEFITS P ROGRAMS ADMINISTERED BY
HOSPITALS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 19a-127k of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
(a) As used in this section: 3
(1) "Community benefits program" means any [voluntary] program 4
to promote preventive care and to improve the health status for 5
[working families and] all populations [at risk in the communities] 6
within the geographic service areas of [a managed care organization or] 7
a hospital in accordance with guidelines established pursuant to 8
subsection (c) of this section; 9
[(2) "Managed care organization" has the same meaning as provided 10
in section 38a-478;] 11
[(3)] (2) "Hospital" has the same meaning as provided in section 19a-12 Raised Bill No. 447
LCO No. 2391 2 of 5
490. 13
(b) On or before [January 1, 2005] September 15, 2020, and [biennially] 14
annually thereafter, [each managed care organization and] each tax-15
exempt, privately owned hospital shall submit to the [Healthcare 16
Advocate, or the Healthcare Advocate's] Health Systems Planning Unit 17
of the Office of Health Strategy, or the Office of Health Strategy's 18
designee, a report on [whether the managed care organization or 19
hospital has in place a community benefits program. If a managed care 20
organization or hospital elects to develop a community benefits 21
program, the report required by this subsection shall comply with the 22
reporting requirements of subsection (d) of this section] such hospital's 23
community benefits program for the most recently completed fiscal year 24
and community building activities listed on such hospital's most 25
recently completed Internal Revenue Service form 990. Such report shall 26
be in a format determined by the Office of Health Strategy. 27
(c) [A managed care organization or] Each tax-exempt, privately 28
owned hospital [may] shall develop community benefit guidelines 29
intended to promote preventive care and to improve the health status 30
for [working families and] all populations [at risk] residing within the 31
geographic service areas of such hospital, whether or not those 32
individuals are [enrollees of the managed care plan or] patients of the 33
hospital. The guidelines shall focus on the following principles: 34
(1) Adoption and publication of a community benefits policy 35
statement setting forth [the organization's or] such hospital's 36
commitment to a formal community benefits program; 37
(2) The responsibility for overseeing the development and 38
implementation of the community benefits program, the resources to be 39
allocated and the administrative mechanisms for the regular evaluation 40
of the program; 41
(3) Seeking assistance and meaningful participation from the 42
communities within [the organization's or] such hospital's geographic 43
service areas in developing and implementing the community benefits 44 Raised Bill No. 447
LCO No. 2391 3 of 5
program and community building activities, and in defining the 45
targeted populations and the specific health care needs it should 46
address. In doing so, the governing body or management of [the 47
organization or] such hospital shall give priority to the public health 48
needs outlined in the most recent version of the state health plan 49
prepared by the Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-7; 50
and 51
(4) Developing its program based upon an assessment of the health 52
care needs and resources of the targeted populations, particularly low 53
and middle-income, medically underserved populations and barriers to 54
accessing health care, including, but not limited to, cultural, linguistic 55
and physical barriers to accessible health care, lack of information on 56
available sources of health care coverage and services, and the benefits 57
of preventive health care. The program shall consider the health care 58
needs of a broad spectrum of age groups and health conditions. 59
(d) Each [managed care organization and each] tax-exempt, privately 60
owned hospital [that chooses to participate in developing a community 61
benefits program] shall include in the [biennial] annual report required 62
by subsection (b) of this section [the status of the program, if any, that 63
the organization or hospital established. If the managed care 64
organization or hospital has chosen to participate in a community 65
benefits program, the report shall include] the following components: 66
(1) The community benefits policy statement of [the managed care 67
organization or] such hospital; (2) the mechanism by which community 68
participation is solicited and incorporated in the community benefits 69
program and community building activities; (3) identification of 70
community health needs that were considered in developing and 71
implementing the community benefits program; (4) a narrative 72
description of the community benefits, community services, and 73
preventive health education provided or proposed, which may include 74
measurements related to the number of people served and health status 75
outcomes; (5) measures taken to evaluate the results of the community 76
benefits program and proposed revisions to the program; (6) to the 77
extent feasible, a community benefits budget and a good faith effort to 78 Raised Bill No. 447
LCO No. 2391 4 of 5
measure expenditures and administrative costs associated with the 79
community benefits program, including both cash and in -kind 80
commitments; and (7) a summary of the extent to which [the managed 81
care organization or] such hospital has developed and met the 82
guidelines listed in subsection (c) of this section. [Each managed care 83
organization and each hospital] The Office of Health Strategy shall 84
[make a copy of the] post each report [available, upon request, to any 85
member of the public] submitted pursuant to subsection (b) of this 86
section on its Internet web site not later than thirty days after the date of 87
receipt of such report. 88
(e) The [Healthcare Advocate, or the Healthcare Advocate's] Office of 89
Health Strategy, or the Office of Health Strategy's designee, shall, within 90
available appropriations, develop a summary and analysis of the 91
community benefits program reports submitted by [managed care 92
organizations and] tax-exempt, privately owned hospitals under this 93
section and shall review such reports for adherence to the guidelines set 94
forth in subsection (c) of this section. Not later than [October 1, 2005, and 95
biennially] December 31, 2020, and annually thereafter, the [Healthcare 96
Advocate, or the Healthcare Advocate's] Office of Health Strategy or the 97
Office of Health Strategy's designee, shall [make such summary and 98
analysis available to the public upon request] post such summary and 99
analysis on its Internet web site not later than thirty days after the date 100
of receipt of such report. 101
(f) The [Healthcare Advocate] Office of Health Strategy may, after 102
notice and opportunity for a hearing, in accordance with chapter 54, 103
impose a civil penalty on any [managed care organization or] tax-104
exempt, privately owned hospital that fails to submit the report required 105
pursuant to this section by the date specified in subsection (b) of this 106
section. Such penalty shall be not more than fifty dollars a day for each 107
day after the required submittal date that such report is not submitted. 108
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 19a-127k Raised Bill No. 447
LCO No. 2391 5 of 5
Statement of Purpose:
To make various revisions to community benefits programs
administered by hospitals.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]