Senate Bill No. 692
(By Senators McCabe, Foster, Minard, Hunter, Stollings and Unger)
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[Introduced February 19, 2007; referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §11-28-1, §11-28-2,
§11-28-3, §11-28-4, §11-28-5, §11-28-6, §11-28-7, §11-28-8,
§11-28-9, §11-28-10, §11-28-11, §11-28-12, §11-28-13,
§11-28-14 and §11-28-15, all relating to providing health care
to the poor, uninsured and the underinsured residents of this
state generally; defining certain terms; providing for the
voluntary creation of a nongovernmental authority; limiting
hospitals delivering various levels of care; allowing the
nongovernmental authority to assess a tax on certain
hospitals; providing for the promulgation of rules; and
providing certain other requirements of the authority.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §11-28-1, §11-28-2,
§11-28-3, §11-28-4, §11-28-5, §11-28-6, §11-28-7, §11-28-8,
§11-28-9, §11-28-10, §11-28-11, §11-28-12, §11-28-13, §11-28-14 and
§11-28-15, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 28. HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITIES.
§11-28-1. Legislative findings.
The Legislature finds that hospitals in the state are
experiencing an undue burden in providing health care services to
the poor, the underinsured and the uninsured. The Legislature
further finds that cooperation of hospitals and the integration of
health care services between large and small hospitals and urban
and rural hospitals would benefit the citizens of the state, help
to ease the burden on any one hospital and increase access to
health care services for all citizens. Therefore, the Legislature
finds that to foster cooperation and integration and to help defer
the burden of providing those services, Health Care Improvement
Authorities, should be created and vested with the authority to
impose a tax on the revenues of certain hospitals that integrate
with other hospitals that agree to the terms and conditions set
forth herein and the additional terms and conditions as may be
required by the Department of Health and Human Resources.
§11-28-2. Definitions.
The following words when used in this article have the meaning
ascribed to them in this section, except in those instances where a different meaning is distinctly expressed or the context in which
the word is used clearly indicates a different meaning is intended:
(a) "Revenues" means those revenues of a hospital that is
subject to the tax as specifically defined in the plan amendment.
(b) "Hospital" means a facility licensed as such pursuant to
the provisions of article five-b of chapter sixteen of this code,
and any acute care facility operated by the state government, that
primarily provides inpatient diagnostic, treatment or
rehabilitative services to injured, disabled or sick persons under
the supervision of physicians and includes psychiatric and
tuberculosis hospitals.
(c) "Department" means the West Virginia Department of Health
And Human Resources and the term "secretary" means the Secretary of
the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, or his
or her designee.
(d) "Health Care Improvement Authority" means a governmental
entity consisting of an organization or affiliation of hospitals
meeting the conditions set forth in this section and that has been
approved by the department to impose the tax described here.
(e) "Authority" means a Health Care Improvement Authority.
(f) "Plan amendment" means an amendment to the department's
plan to provide Medicaid coverage as approved by the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services.
(g) "Tax Commissioner" means commissioner of the West Virginia Department of Tax and Revenue or his or her designee.
§11-28-3. Conditions.
An authority shall consist of a group of affiliated hospitals
which shall not be deemed to be governmental or quasi-governmental
entities as a result of their participation therein. All
participating hospitals will be taxed and at least one of the
participating hospitals will provide the following level of
services:
(1) Level one trauma services as defined by the department;
(2) Level three newborn intensive care services as defined by
the department; and
(3) Is a teaching facility as defined by the department.
§11-28-4. Tax on revenues authorized.
Beginning on the first day of July, two thousand seven, an
authority may be created and may impose a tax on the revenues of
certain hospitals: Provided, That the tax may not be imposed upon
any hospital that does not meet the terms and conditions set forth
herein and other conditions that may be required by the department:
Provided, however, That no hospital or other health care provider
may be subject to the tax imposed by this section without first
voluntarily participating in the authority. The department shall
set forth the purpose of the tax, including the rate of the tax,
the items or services to be taxed, the expected amount of funds to
be collected and the dedication of the funds collected in its plan amendment in a manner consistent with this statute.
§11-28-5. Rate of tax.
The tax rate shall be at the rate as is approved by the center
for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the plan amendment.
§11-28-6. Taxable items.
Any tax imposed under this article may be collected on the
revenues of those hospitals that participate in the authority and
meet the conditions set forth herein and any additional terms and
conditions set forth by the department in the plan amendment.
§11-28-7. Hospitals to pay tax.
Any hospital that meets the terms and conditions set forth
herein shall pay to the Tax Commissioner on behalf of the authority
the amount of tax levied by this article. No profit may accrue to
any person as a result of the collection of the tax levied pursuant
to this article and the total of all taxes collected pursuant to
this article shall be returned and remitted to the department as
provided in this article.
§11-28-8. Duties of Tax Commissioner.
(a) The Tax Commissioner shall collect the tax imposed by this
article for the authority. After consultation with the secretary,
the Tax Commissioner may establish procedures and prescribe forms
necessary to implement and enforce this article. The Tax
Commissioner shall account for all collections of the tax imposed
by this article and for all collections of additions to tax, penalties and interest imposed with respect to this tax under
article ten of this chapter. The amount collected shall be
deposited, within fifteen days after its receipt by the Tax
Commissioner, into the special revenue funds created in the State
Treasury by article four-c, chapter nine of this code;
(b) The department shall provide the Tax Commissioner with any
information in its possession that the Tax Commissioner considers
necessary for proper enforcement of this article. Notwithstanding
any provision in this code to the contrary, the Tax Commissioner
may enter into a written exchange of information agreement with the
secretary to disclose return information pertaining to the tax
imposed by this article for the purpose of facilitating
administration of this state's medical assistance program. Any
confidential information disclosed under this agreement shall
remain confidential in the hands of the receiving agency as
provided in section five-d, article ten of this chapter.
§11-28-9. Tax Commissioner to promulgate rules.
(a) The Tax Commissioner shall adopt and file emergency
legislative rules by the first day of July, two thousand seven,
setting forth the conditions and requirements of establishing an
authority. The conditions and requirements shall be consistent
with the findings of the Legislature and the other requirements set
forth herein.
(b) The Tax Commissioner may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to carry out the provisions of
this article.
(c) All rules shall be promulgated pursuant to chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code and as described herein.
(d) Subsequent amendments and modifications to any rule
promulgated pursuant to this article may be implemented by
emergency rule.
§11-28-10. Consolidated returns.
An authority may allow a hospital operating two or more places
of business from which covered services which are taxable under a
tax imposed pursuant to the authority of this article to file
consolidated returns covering all revenues from all locations, on
forms as prescribed by the authority.
§11-28-11. Keeping and preserving records.
The authority or the Tax Commissioner shall require that each
hospital remitting taxes pursuant to this section to keep complete
and accurate records of taxable revenues. The records and other
documents shall be preserved for a period of time not less than ten
years.
§11-28-12. Records; preserving returns.
The authority imposing a tax pursuant to this article shall
keep full and accurate records of all moneys received and shall
preserve all returns filed for ten years.
The authority shall keep separate accounts in a permanent book
or in a permanent record on an electronic data processing system,
in the same manner in which records are kept pursuant to section
thirteen, article one, chapter eleven-a of this code, of all the
taxes received and disbursed pursuant to this article by him or
her. The account book or a printout of the permanent record on the
electronic data processing system is subject to inspection at any
time by Tax Commissioner.
§11-28-13. Dedication of funds.
Any taxes collected pursuant to this article shall be remitted
to the department to be used consistent with the provisions of the
plan amendment.
§11-28-14. Hospital rates and reimbursement.
(a) Any reimbursement revenue that is generated as a result of
the imposition of the tax by an authority that is paid to a
hospital that is a member of an authority shall not be considered
in the establishment of the revenue limits for the hospital as
provided in article twenty nine-b, chapter sixteen.
(b) No department or division of the state of West Virginia
may discriminate against a hospital participating in an authority
by reducing reimbursement or payments to the hospital for services
rendered to any patient that may be reimbursed by a department or
division of the state of West Virginia because of the hospital's
participation in an authority.
§11-28-15. Continuation of the authority.
Pursuant to the provisions of article ten, chapter four of
this code, the authorities created herein shall continue to exist
for a period of five years after the approval of the plan amendment
by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, unless sooner
terminated, continued or reestablished.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to develop an alternate
system of providing health care to the poor, uninsured and the
underinsured residents of this state. The bill provides for the
voluntary creation of a nongovernmental authority and limits
hospitals delivering various levels of care. The bill also allows
the nongovernmental authority to assess a tax on certain hospitals.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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