BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 2516
81R21219 TJS-D By: Fraser
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
More physicians coming out of residency want to be employed instead of starting a practice. Small hospitals often do not have the volumes to support a group practice, so it is hard for physicians to gain the economies of scale that larger physician practices can receive in larger cities and it is hard to recruit quality office staff to manage physician billing in rural areas.
As proposed, S.B. 2516 authorizes the board of directors (board) of the Comanche County Consolidated Hospital District (district) to hire physicians or other health care providers as it deems necessary. The bill also authorizes the board to delegate to the administrator or manager of the district the authority to hire other necessary employees for the district.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 3.09, Chapter 132, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, by adding Subsections (d-1) and (d-2), as follows:
(d-1) Authorizes the board of directors of the Comanche County Consolidated Hospital District (board) to employ physicians or other health care providers as the board considers necessary for the efficient operation of the Comanche County Consolidated Hospital District.
(d-2) Provides that Subsections (d) (relating to the authority of the board to appoint doctors to the staff and to delegate to the administrator the authority to employ certain necessary persons) and (d-1) do not authorize the board to supervise or control the practice of medicine, as prohibited by Subtitle B (Physicians), Title 3 (Health Professions), Occupations Code.
SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2009.