Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2032 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R14537 KLA-F
2	2	By: Nelson S.B. No. 2032
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to hospitals' submission of uncompensated hospital care
8	8	data and hospital audits related to federal funding provided for
9	9	that care.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. The heading to Section 531.551, Government Code,
12	12	is amended to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 531.551. UNCOMPENSATED HOSPITAL CARE REPORTING AND
14	14	ANALYSIS; HOSPITAL AUDIT FEE.
15	15	SECTION 2. Section 531.551, Government Code, is amended by
16	16	amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsections (a-1),
17	17	(a-2), and (m) to read as follows:
18	18	(a) Using data submitted to the Department of State Health
19	19	Services under Subsection (a-1), the [The] executive commissioner
20	20	shall adopt rules providing for:
21	21	(1) a standard definition of "uncompensated hospital
22	22	care" that reflects unpaid costs incurred by hospitals and accounts
23	23	for actual hospital costs and hospital charges and revenue sources;
24	24	(2) a methodology to be used by hospitals in this state
25	25	to compute the cost of that care that incorporates the standard set
26	26	of adjustments described by Section 531.552(g)(4); and
27	27	(3) procedures to be used by those hospitals to report
28	28	the cost of that care to the commission and to analyze that cost.
29	29	(a-1) To assist the executive commissioner in adopting and
30	30	amending the rules required by Subsection (a), the Department of
31	31	State Health Services shall require each hospital in this state to
32	32	provide to the department, not later than a date specified by the
33	33	department, uncompensated hospital care data prescribed by the
34	34	commission. Each hospital must submit complete and adequate data,
35	35	as determined by the department, not later than the specified date.
36	36	(a-2) The Department of State Health Services shall notify
37	37	the commission of each hospital in this state that fails to submit
38	38	complete and adequate data required by the department under
39	39	Subsection (a-1) on or before the date specified by the department.
40	40	Notwithstanding any other law and to the extent allowed by federal
41	41	law, the commission may withhold Medicaid program reimbursements
42	42	owed to the hospital until the hospital complies with the
43	43	requirement.
44	44	(d) If the commission determines through the procedures
45	45	adopted under Subsection (b) that a hospital submitted a report
46	46	described by Subsection (a)(3) with incomplete or inaccurate
47	47	information, the commission shall notify the hospital of the
48	48	specific information the hospital must submit and prescribe a date
49	49	by which the hospital must provide that information. If the
50	50	hospital fails to submit the specified information on or before the
51	51	date prescribed by the commission, the commission shall notify the
52	52	attorney general of that failure. On receipt of the notice, the
53	53	attorney general shall impose an administrative penalty on the
54	54	hospital in an amount not to exceed $10,000. In determining the
55	55	amount of the penalty to be imposed, the attorney general shall
56	56	consider:
57	57	(1) the seriousness of the violation;
58	58	(2) whether the hospital had previously committed a
59	59	violation; and
60	60	(3) the amount necessary to deter the hospital from
61	61	committing future violations.
62	62	(m) The commission may require each hospital that is
63	63	required under 42 C.F.R. Section 455.304 to be audited to pay a fee
64	64	in an amount equal to the costs incurred in conducting the audit.
65	65	SECTION 3. As soon as possible after the date the Department
66	66	of State Health Services requires each hospital in this state to
67	67	initially submit uncompensated hospital care data under Section
68	68	531.551(a-1), Government Code, as added by this Act, the executive
69	69	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
70	70	adopt rules or amendments to existing rules that conform to the
71	71	requirements of Section 531.551(a), Government Code, as amended by
72	72	this Act.
73	73	SECTION 4. If before implementing any provision of this Act
74	74	a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
75	75	federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
76	76	the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
77	77	authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
78	78	waiver or authorization is granted.
79	79	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.