H. B. 4700
(By Delegates Manchin, Longstreth and Caputo)
[Introduced February 18, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §16-29B-17 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to common standards for
hospitals' charity care programs; bad debt collection
programs; and requiring hospitals to provide free charity care
to uninsured citizens one hundred one percent below poverty
level and lowered rates to those citizens between one hundred
and three hundred percent below poverty level.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-29B-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 29B. HEALTH CARE AUTHORITY.
§16-29B-17. Uniform system of financial reporting.
(a) The board shall develop and specify a uniform system of
reporting utilization, accounting and financial reporting,
including cost allocation methods by which hospitals shall record their revenues, income, expenses, capital outlays, assets,
liabilities and units of service. The development and
specification process aforementioned shall be conducted in a manner
determined by the board to be most efficient for that purpose
notwithstanding the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code. Each hospital shall adopt this uniform system for the
purpose of reporting utilization, costs and revenues to the board
effective for the fiscal year beginning on or after twelve months
from the effective date of this article.
(b) The board may provide for modification in the accounting
and reporting system in order to correctly reflect differences in
the scope or type of services and financial structures of the
various categories, sizes and types of hospitals and in a manner
consistent with the purposes of this article.
(c) The board may provide technical assistance to those
hospitals which request it and which evidence sufficient need for
assistance in the establishment of a data collection system to the
extent that funds are available to the board for this purpose.
(d) The board shall, after consultation with health care
providers, purchasers, classes of purchasers and third-party
payors, adopt a mandatory form for reporting to the board, at its
request, medical diagnosis, treatment and other services rendered
to each purchaser by health care providers subject to the
provisions of this article.
(e) Following a public hearing, the board shall establish a
program to minimize the administrative burden on hospitals by
eliminating unnecessary duplication of financial and operational
reports; and to the extent possible, notwithstanding any other law,
coordinate reviews, reports and inspections performed by federal,
state, local and private agencies.
(f) By the first day of July, two thousand eight, and every
first day of July thereafter, hospitals shall report to the board
their charity care policies, how the hospital publicizes its
charity care policy and its collection policies for bad debt.
After reviewing the charity care and collection policies, the board
shall convene a public hearing to determine whether the board
should adopt minimum standards for hospital charity care policies,
minimum standards for publication and dissemination of these
policies and minimum standards for bad debt collection policies.
The Board may update these standards from time to time. After the
first day of January, two thousand nine, hospitals shall adopt a
charity care policy that, at a minimum, provides free charity care
to uninsured citizens whose family income is below one hundred
percent of the federal poverty level and charges citizens with
family incomes between one hundred one percent of federal poverty
level and three hundred percent of federal poverty levels a rate
not to exceed the allowable rate for Medicare patients for the same
service.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide standards for
hospitals' charity care programs and bad debt collection programs
and require hospitals to provide free charity care to uninsured
citizens one hundred one percent below poverty level and lowered
rates to those citizens between one hundred and three hundred
percent below poverty level.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.