1-1 By: Lewis (Senate Sponsor - Bernsen) H.C.R. No. 202 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 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, Doctors Hospital of Groves is a stand-alone facility 1-8 operated by Community Health Care Foundation, Inc., a tax-exempt 1-9 organization with no other affiliation or access to corporate 1-10 funding, but which is dedicated to providing quality health care 1-11 and improving access to and availability of physicians, ambulatory 1-12 services, emergency care, and hospital inpatient and outpatient 1-13 health care; and 1-14 WHEREAS, The hospital not only serves residents of the city 1-15 of Groves but also treats persons from all over Southeast Texas who 1-16 are in need of medical care, including the uninsured and 1-17 underinsured, providing charity care for indigent persons in the 1-18 community and uncompensated care for persons unable or unwilling to 1-19 pay for services as well as health care services for persons 1-20 receiving assistance in the form of Medicaid, Medicare, or the 1-21 Children's Health Insurance Program; and 1-22 WHEREAS, It is estimated that in the year 2000 Doctors 1-23 Hospital provided $2.2 million in state-defined charity care and 1-24 $2.3 million in uncompensated care; and 1-25 WHEREAS, Although Doctors Hospital of Groves is currently 1-26 designated an urban hospital, it serves a small community whose 1-27 population mirrors the population served by many rural hospitals 1-28 that receive a higher reimbursement and more favorable treatment 1-29 under certain federal programs for the same services; and 1-30 WHEREAS, Doctors Hospital is the only osteopathic facility in 1-31 the area between Dallas and Houston, and as the only independent 1-32 teaching hospital it provides its 12 family practice residents with 1-33 an opportunity to treat a medically needy population; furthermore, 1-34 the hospital's active commitment to providing access and 1-35 availability to physicians and health care services is evident by 1-36 its efforts in recruiting new physicians to the community, 1-37 including the most recent additions of a general surgeon, an 1-38 orthopedic surgeon, and an anesthesiologist; and 1-39 WHEREAS, The State of Texas recognizes the importance of 1-40 providing health care to underserved areas of the state and its 1-41 uninsured and underinsured residents, and Doctors Hospital is 1-42 uniquely positioned to reach a large uninsured and underinsured 1-43 population; redesignating the hospital as a rural hospital possibly 1-44 would allow the hospital to receive better rates of reimbursement 1-45 for services and to reap other benefits that would ensure its 1-46 continued delivery of health care services; and 1-47 WHEREAS, Doctors Hospital of Groves has been dedicated to 1-48 providing health care to uninsured and underinsured Texans that 1-49 might otherwise be forced to go without medical care, and because 1-50 the hospital is continually teaching and recruiting physicians to 1-51 serve the medically needy residents of Texas, it is important that 1-52 the hospital be given every opportunity to safeguard its ability to 1-53 provide health care to the city of Groves and the Southeast Texas 1-54 community; now, therefore, be it 1-55 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-56 hereby direct the Health and Human Services Commission to 1-57 redesignate the Doctors Hospital of Groves from an urban hospital 1-58 to a rural hospital; and, be it further 1-59 RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official 1-60 copy of this resolution to the commissioner of health and human 1-61 services. 1-62 * * * * *