Revision: Feb. 11, 2009, midnight
SB 185-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
10/03
SENATE BILL 185-FN
COMMITTEE: Health and Human Services
This bill limits the fees and rates that health care facilities and hospitals may charge the department of corrections for services for state prisoners.
This bill is a request of the department of corrections.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-1020
10/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to rates and charges for medical services to state prisoners.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Medical Services for State Prisoners. Amend RSA 623-C:2, I and II to read as follows:
I.(a) Except as provided in subparagraphs (b) through [(f)] (d), no health care facility or hospital [or] that provides inpatient, outpatient, or emergency room services shall bill or charge the department of corrections or its agent [more than 110 percent of the medicare allowable rate for inpatient or emergency room care provided for prisoners in state correctional facilities] a fee or rate for services or medical devices that would exceed the lowest fee or rate charged to any patient or entity by that health care facility or hospital for any service or medical device at the time such service or medical device was provided. In this chapter, health care facilities mean ambulatory and specialty-medical services centers licensed under RSA 151, and shall include but not be limited to surgical, rehabilitation, long term, oncology, and dialysis centers, but shall not include physician practices and community health care clinics.
(b) Allowances provided by hospitals shall qualify as community benefits under RSA 7:32-d, III(b).
(c) [Hospitals reported by the department of health and human services as having a negative operating margin in the most recent year for which hospital-audited financial data is available shall charge no more than 125 percent of the medicare rate.
(d) ] The commissioner of the department of corrections may waive the application of subparagraph (a) if the commissioner determines such action is necessary to ensure prisoner access to medically necessary care.
[(e)] (d) The commissioner of the department of corrections may waive the application of subparagraph (a) if the commissioner determines such action to be necessary for the efficient operations of the state correctional facility.
[(f) Nothing in this paragraph shall require a hospital to admit any person. ]
II. Nothing in this section shall preclude the commissioner of the department of corrections [shall have] from having the discretion to negotiate and execute medical service rate agreements with hospitals or [emergency rooms] health care facilities for the provision of medical services to state prisoners at the lowest rate possible, or utilizing rates in existing agreements.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
09-1020
02/04/09
SB 185-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to rates and charges for medical services to state prisoners.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Due to time constraints, the Office of Legislative Budget Assistant is unable to provide a fiscal note for this bill at this time. When completed, the fiscal note will be forwarded to the Senate Clerk's Office.