HBA-MPM H.B. 3504 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3504 By: Solis, Jim Public Health 4/5/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Texas Center for Infectious Diseases in San Antonio and South Texas Hospital in Harlingen, opening in 1954 and 1956, respectively, were built to treat tuberculosis in Texas. Additionally, these facilities were authorized to treat other persons with infectious or chronic respiratory ailments; to quarantine individuals under specified conditions; and to provide patient care, research, education, and support services for the Texas Department of Health (TDH) bureaus, public health regions, local health departments, and other TDH contractors. Due to the growing need for indigent health care, South Texas Hospital was authorized by the Texas Legislature in 1983 to broaden its scope to include medical and sub-acute surgical services, in addition to the authority to provide cancer screenings, and diagnostic, educational, obstetrical, gynecological, and other inpatient services. South Texas Hospital serves as the major provider of sub-acute indigent care in its region. Both hospitals' programs were found in 1996 to comply with regulations specified by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), however, serious design and structural deficiencies were indicated at both facilities, resulting in JCAHO notification that they would not be re-accredited in 1999 unless a plan was developed to renovate the old facilities or construct new ones. During the 75th Texas Legislature, TDH requested appropriations to bring the facilities up to JCAHO standards, which resulted in appropriation Rider 44 which directed TDH to develop a long-range plan to determine the future of these two facilities. H.B. 3504 establishes a long-range plan for South Texas Hospital. Specifically, it requires TDH to contract for the construction of a new facility for outpatient health care services out of appropriated funds either at the hospital's original site, or colocated with the Regional Academic Health Center at a common site in Harlingen. This bill also addresses the transfer of services from the old facility to the new, contracts with public or private health care providers for services provided to the new facility, interim health care services, and issues affecting displaced state employees of South Texas Hospital. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. CONSTRUCTION OF NEW PHYSICAL FACILITY FOR OUTPATIENT HEALTH CARE SERVICES. (a) Requires the Texas Department of Health (TDH) to contract for the construction of a new physical facility for outpatient health care services out of appropriated funds. Provides that the facility is required to be located at the site of the South Texas Hospital or colocated with the Regional Academic Health Center at a common site in Harlingen, Texas, and adjacent to the center. (b) Provides that the contract for the facility must specify that it be designed and constructed to provide for all outpatient health care services, including outpatient tuberculosis services, provided at the South Texas Hospital on the effective date of this Act. (c) Provides that if the facility is colocated with the Regional Academic Health Center, the contract must specify that, to the maximum extent possible, that facility and the Regional Academic Health Center must be designed and constructed together to save construction costs and long-term maintenance and operations costs by using common central utility plants, cafeterias, and laundry, maintenance, and other support facilities. Requires the board of regents of The University of Texas System (board) to cooperate with TDH to coordinate the structure and design of the physical facilities of the facility and the Regional Academic Health Center to achieve a maximally efficient use of resources. SECTION 2. OUTPATIENT HEALTH CARE SERVICES. (a) Requires the provision of all outpatient health care services provided by the South Texas Hospital on the effective date of this Act to be transferred to the new facility upon its completion. (b) Authorizes TDH to contract with a political subdivision for the management and operation of the facility and for provision of outpatient health care services at the facility. SECTION 3. INPATIENT HEALTH CARE AND LABORATORY SERVICES. (a) Requires TDH to contract with any public or private health care provider or entity for the provision of inpatient health care services, including inpatient tuberculosis services and laboratory services provided by the South Texas Hospital on the effective date of this Act out of appropriated funds to TDH for that purpose. (b) Requires the South Texas Hospital to cease to provide inpatient health care services after entering into contracts required by Subsection (a) of this section. SECTION 4. INTERIM RENOVATION OF PHYSICAL FACILITIES OF THE SOUTH TEXAS HOSPITAL. Requires TDH, out of funds appropriated for that purpose, to contract for minimally necessary structural and design renovations to the physical facilities of the South Texas Hospital required for reaccreditation during 1999 by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, required for compliance with certain state and federal standards, regarding accessibility for the disabled, and required for the continued operation of the hospital to provide services until construction of the new facility and the provision of those services is complete. SECTION 5. FUTURE OF THE SOUTH TEXAS HOSPITAL. (a) Requires the South Texas Hospital to close after the person with whom TDH has contracted with for the provision of services under Section 3 of this Act has begun providing those services and the provision of inpatient services is transferred to the new facility required by Section 2 of this Act. (b) Requires TDH and the General Services Commission to collaborate to prepare leasing and other options for potential future uses of the physical facilities of the South Texas Hospital. SECTION 6. CONTINUATION OF SUPPORT SERVICES. (a) Requires TDH and the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (TDMHMR) to enter into an interagency contract to provide for continuation of support services for the facility operated by TDMHMR that is colocated with the South Texas Hospital, if the new facility required by Section 1 of this Act is colocated with the Regional Academic Health Center. (b) Authorizes the contract to include a provision requiring TDH to continue providing employees for support facilities at the site. SECTION 7. DISPLACED EMPLOYEES OF THE SOUTH TEXAS HOSPITAL. (a) Requires TDH to reassign a member of the employee class of TDH who is employed at the South Texas Hospital and whose position is displaced as a result of the contract entered into by TDH under this Act or the closing of the South Texas Hospital to an open position within TDH for which the member is qualified to the extent possible out of funds appropriated to TDH. (b) Provides that a contract awarded by TDH under this Act is required to include a provision that, to the maximum extent possible as determined by the contracting entity, the entity is required to offer an employee of the South Texas Hospital whose position is displaced as a result of the contract a similar employment position with the entity. SECTION 8. TIME FRAME. Requires TDH to enter into the contracts required by this Act no later than September 1, 2000. SECTION 9. AMENDMENT. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 814, Government Code, by adding Section 814.1043, as follows: Sec. 814.1043. TEMPORARY SERVICE RETIREMENT OPTION FOR MEMBERS AFFECTED BY THE TRANSFER OF SERVICES FROM THE SOUTH TEXAS HOSPITAL. (a) Makes this section applicable to members of the employee class whose positions with TDH at the South Texas Hospital are eliminated as a result of contracts with public or private health care providers or entities or as a result of the closing of the hospital and who separate from state service at that time. (b) Makes an eliminated employee eligible to retire and receive a service retirement annuity if the member's age and service credit, each increased by three years, would meet age and service requirements for service retirement under Section 814.104(a) (Eligibility of Member for Service Retirement), Government Code, which states that a member who has service credit in the retirement system is eligible to retire and receive a service retirement annuity if the member is at least 60 years old and has 5 years of service credit in the employee class, or if the sum of the member's age and amount of service credit in the employee class, including months of age and credit, equals the number 80. Provides that the annuity of a person retiring under this section is computer based on the person's accrued service credit increased by three years. (c) Provides that an eliminated employee becomes eligible to retire and receive a service retirement annuity on the date on which the member would have met age and service requirements for service retirement under Section 814.104(a), Government Code, had the member remained employed by the state if, on the date of separation from state service, the member's age and service credit, each increased by five years, would meet age and service requirements for service retirement under that section. Provides that the annuity of a person retiring under this subsection is computed based on the person's accrued service credit. (d) Provides that if a member described by Subsection (c) is reemployed by the state before retirement, the time between the member's separation from state service and reemployment is authorized to be used only to compute eligibility for service retirement and is prohibited from being used to compute the amount of any service retirement annuity. (e) Requires a member applying to retire under this section and TDH to provide documentation required by the retirement system to establish eligibility to retire under this section. (f) Makes this section applicable only to positions eliminated on or after the effective date of this section as a result of a contract with a public or private health care provider or entity entered into on or before September 1, 2000 or the closing of the South Texas Hospital. SECTION 10. Requires TDH to enter into the contracts required by this Act no later than September 1, 2000. SECTION 11.Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.