HBA-NRS C.S.H.B. 2419 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2419 By: Coleman Public Health 4/18/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires nonprofit hospitals or hospital systems to devote a specific amount of their net patient revenues to charity care and government-sponsored indigent health care. C.S.H.B. 2419 further develops charity care reporting requirements and requires clarification of charity care policies of nonprofit hospitals and hospital systems. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2419 amends the Health and Safety Code to authorize a nonprofit hospital or hospital system under contract with a local county to provide indigent health care services under the Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act to credit unreimbursed costs from direct care provided to an eligible county resident toward meeting the hospital's or system's charity care and government-sponsored indigent health care requirement. The bill requires each hospital to provide to each person who seeks any health care service at the hospital notice of the charity care program and the program's charity care and eligibility policies. The bill requires each hospital to publish annually a notice of the hospital's charity care program and policies in a local newspaper. C.S.H.B. 2419 requires the Texas Department of Health (department) to publish annually a manual that lists each nonprofit hospital in this state with a brief summary of the charity care policies and community benefits that the nonprofit hospital provides. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2419 modifies the original bill by reinstating a provision authorizing a nonprofit hospital or hospital system to elect to provide community benefits, according to the standard of charity care and governmentsponsored indigent health care provided at a level which is reasonable in relation to the community needs, the available resources of the hospital or hospital system, and the tax-exempt benefits received by the hospital or hospital system. The substitute specifies that the direct care that a nonprofit hospital or hospital system may credit is the unreimbursed costs from direct care. The substitute removes provisions authorizing a nonprofit hospital or hospital system to credit expenditures for community benefits under the standard that the care and benefits are provided in an amount equal to at least five percent of the net revenue. The substitute removes provisions requiring the annual report of the community benefits plan to include the populations affected and the anticipated outcomes. The substitute removes provisions relating to a state access fund. The substitute removes the provision requiring the comptroller of public accounts to conduct an appraisal of the taxable value of the hospitals.