Senate Bill No. 447
(By Senators Ross and Helmick)
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[Introduced February 21, 1994; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee
on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eleven, article twenty-seven,
chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the tax on
providers of nursing facility services generally; and
exempting certain service recipients from payment of any
pass through costs resulting from the imposition of the tax.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eleven, article twenty-seven, chapter eleven of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 27. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER TAXES.
§11-27-11. Imposition of tax on providers of nursing facility
services, other than services of intermediate care
facilities for the mentally retarded.
(a)
Imposition of tax. -- For the privilege of engaging or
continuing within this state in the business of providing nursingfacility services, other than those services of intermediate care
facilities for the mentally retarded, there is hereby levied and
shall be collected from every person rendering such service an
annual broad-based health care related tax:
Provided, That
hospitals which provide nursing facility services may adjust
nursing facility rates to the extent necessary to compensate for
the tax without first obtaining approval from the health care
cost review authority:
Provided, however, That the rate
adjustment is limited to a single adjustment during the initial
year of the imposition of the tax which adjustment shall be
exempt from prospective review by the health care cost review
authority and further which is limited to an amount not to exceed
the amount of the tax which is levied against the hospital for
the provision of nursing facility services pursuant to this
section. The health care cost review authority shall
retroactively review the rate increases implemented by the
hospitals under this section during the regular rate review
process. A hospital which fails to meet the criteria established
by this section for a rate increase exempt from prospective
review shall be subject to the penalties imposed under article
twenty-nine-b, chapter sixteen of the code.
Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection, any rate
increase resulting from the tax imposed by this section on
recipients of services who pay for nursing facility services from
private funds shall be eliminated retroactive to the date the
rate increase was implemented and no recipient of services whopays for nursing facility services from private funds shall be
subject to the rate increase.
(b)
Rate and measure of tax. -- The tax imposed in
subsection (a) of this section shall be five and one-half percent
of the gross receipts derived by the taxpayer from furnishing
nursing facility services in this state, other than services of
intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded.
(c)
Definitions. --
(1) "Gross receipts" means the amount received or
receivable, whether in cash or in kind, from patients, third-
party payors and others for nursing facility services furnished
by the provider, including retroactive adjustments under
reimbursement agreements with third-party payors, without any
deduction for any expenses of any kind:
Provided, That accrual
basis providers shall be allowed to reduce gross receipts by
their bad debts, to the extent the amount of such bad debts was
previously included in gross receipts upon which the tax imposed
by this section was paid.
(2) "Nursing facility services" means those services that
are nursing facility services for purposes of Section 1903(w) of
the Social Security Act.
(d)
Effective date. -- The tax imposed by this section shall
apply to gross receipts received or receivable by providers after
the thirty-first day of May, one thousand nine hundred ninety-
three.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt, retroactively,
certain service recipients from payment of any pass through costs
resulting from the imposition of the provider tax on nursing
facility services.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.