1-1     By:  Coleman (Senate Sponsor - Moncrief)              H.B. No. 2419
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 2001;
 1-3     May 7, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
 1-4     and Human Services; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to charity care requirements for certain hospitals.
 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-10           SECTION 1.  Section 311.045, Health and Safety Code, is
1-11     amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
1-12           (f)  A nonprofit hospital or hospital system under contract
1-13     with a local county to provide indigent health care services under
1-14     Chapter 61 may credit unreimbursed costs from direct care provided
1-15     to  an eligible county resident toward meeting the nonprofit
1-16     hospital's or system's charity care and government-sponsored
1-17     indigent health care requirement.
1-18           SECTION 2.  Section 311.046(d), Health and Safety Code, is
1-19     amended to read as follows:
1-20           (d)  Each hospital shall provide, to each person who seeks
1-21     any health care service at the hospital, notice, in appropriate
1-22     languages, if possible, about the charity care program, including
1-23     the charity care and eligibility policies of the program, and how
1-24     to apply for charity care.  Such notice shall also be conspicuously
1-25     posted in the general waiting area, in the waiting area for
1-26     emergency services, in the business office, and in such other
1-27     locations as the hospital deems likely to give notice of the
1-28     charity care program and policies.  Each hospital shall annually
1-29     publish notice of the hospital's charity care program and policies
1-30     in a local newspaper of general circulation in the county.  Each
1-31     notice under this subsection must be written in language readily
1-32     understandable to the average reader.
1-33           SECTION 3.  Subchapter D, Chapter 311, Health and Safety
1-34     Code, is amended by adding Section 311.0461 to read as follows:
1-35           Sec. 311.0461.  INFORMATIONAL MANUAL.  The department shall
1-36     annually publish a manual that lists each nonprofit hospital in
1-37     this state  with a brief summary of the charity care policies and
1-38     community benefits that the nonprofit hospital provides.
1-39           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
1-40                                  * * * * *