88R7196 SRA-F
By: Miles S.B. No. 706
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and operations of a health care
provider participation program by the Harris County Hospital
District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 299.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (6) to read as follows:
(6) "Qualifying assessment basis" means any basis
consistent with 42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(w) on which the board
requires mandatory payments to be assessed under this chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 299.004, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 299.004. EXPIRATION. (a) Subject to Section
299.153(d), the authority of the district to administer and operate
a program under this chapter expires December 31, 2025 [2023].
(b) This chapter expires December 31, 2025 [2023].
SECTION 3. Section 299.053, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 299.053. INSTITUTIONAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER
REPORTING. If the board authorizes the district to participate in a
program under this chapter, the board may [shall] require each
institutional health care provider to submit to the district a copy
of any financial and utilization data as reported in:
(1) the provider's Medicare cost report [submitted]
for the most recent [previous fiscal year or for the closest
subsequent] fiscal year for which the provider submitted the
Medicare cost report; or
(2) a report other than the report described by
Subdivision (1) that the board considers reliable and is submitted
by or to the provider for the most recent fiscal year.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 299, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Sections 299.054 and 299.055 to read as
follows:
Sec. 299.054. REQUEST FOR CERTAIN RELIEF. (a) The board
may request that the Health and Human Services Commission submit a
request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for
relief under 42 C.F.R. Section 433.72 for purposes of assuring the
program is administered efficiently, transparently, and in a manner
that complies with federal law.
(b) If the request for relief under Subsection (a) is
granted, the board may act in compliance with the terms of the
relief. To the extent of a conflict between the terms of the relief
and another law, including a provision of this subtitle requiring
mandatory payments be assessed in a uniform or broad-based manner,
the terms of the relief prevail.
Sec. 299.055. PROHIBITION ON IMPOSITION OF TAXES. This
chapter does not authorize the board to impose a bed tax or any
other tax under the laws of this state.
SECTION 5. The heading to Section 299.151, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 299.151. MANDATORY PAYMENTS [BASED ON PAYING PROVIDER
NET PATIENT REVENUE].
SECTION 6. Section 299.151, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding
Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows:
(a) If the board authorizes a health care provider
participation program under this chapter, the board may require a
mandatory payment to be assessed against each institutional health
care provider located in the district, either annually or
periodically throughout the year at the discretion of the board, on
a qualifying assessment basis [the net patient revenue of each
institutional health care provider located in the district]. The
qualifying assessment basis must be the same for each institutional
health care provider in the district. The board shall provide an
institutional health care provider written notice of each
assessment under this section [subsection], and the provider has 30
calendar days following the date of receipt of the notice to pay the
assessment.
(a-1) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the
qualifying assessment basis must be determined by the board using
information contained in an institutional health care provider's
Medicare cost report for the most recent fiscal year for which the
provider submitted the report. If the provider is not required to
submit a Medicare cost report, or if the Medicare cost report
submitted by the provider does not contain information necessary to
determine the qualifying assessment basis, the qualifying
assessment basis may be determined by the board using information
contained in another report the board considers reliable that is
submitted by or to the provider for the most recent fiscal year. To
the extent practicable, the board shall use the same type of report
to determine the qualifying assessment basis for each paying
provider in the district.
(a-2) [In the first year in which the mandatory payment is
required, the mandatory payment is assessed on the net patient
revenue of an institutional health care provider, as determined by
the provider's Medicare cost report submitted for the previous
fiscal year or for the closest subsequent fiscal year for which the
provider submitted the Medicare cost report.] If a [the] mandatory
payment is required, the district shall update the amount of the
mandatory payment on an annual basis and may update the amount on a
more frequent basis.
(b) The amount of a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter must be determined in a manner that ensures the revenue
generated qualifies for federal matching funds under federal law,
consistent with [uniformly proportionate with the amount of net
patient revenue generated by each paying provider in the district
as permitted under federal law. A health care provider
participation program authorized under this chapter may not hold
harmless any institutional health care provider, as required under]
42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(w).
(c) If the board requires a mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter, the board shall set the amount of the mandatory
payment, subject to the limitations of this chapter. The aggregate
amount of the mandatory payments required of all paying providers
in the district may not exceed six percent of the aggregate net
patient revenue from hospital services provided [by all paying
providers] in the district.
SECTION 7. Subchapter D, Chapter 299, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 299.154 to read as follows:
Sec. 299.154. INTEREST AND PENALTIES. The district shall
impose and collect interest and penalties on delinquent mandatory
payments imposed under this chapter in any amount that does not
exceed the maximum amount authorized for other payments that are
owed to the district and are delinquent.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.