1 Health Care Consumer Protection Trust Fund. Amend RSA 7:6-g to read as follows:

7:6-g Health Care Consumer Protection Trust Fund Established.

I. In this section:

(a) "Acquisition transaction" or "acquisition" means transfer of control, direct or indirect, of a health care organization, or of 25 percent or more of the assets thereof, including, but not limited to, purchases, mergers, leases, gifts, consolidations, exchanges, joint ventures, or other transactions involving transfer of control or of 25 percent or more of assets. However, changes in membership of the governing body of a health care organization occurring through regular election or filling of vacancies in accordance with the bylaws thereof do not of themselves constitute acquisition transactions within the meaning of this section.

(b) "Health care organization" means an entity organized to provide health care services including, but not limited to, hospitals, community health services, and medical-surgical or other diagnostic or therapeutic facilities or services, or an entity operating as a health insurer or health maintenance organization.

II. There is hereby established in the state treasury, the health care consumer protection trust fund that shall be kept separate and distinct from all other funds. All proceeds received by the state from any settlement, judgment, or other resolution related to any acquisition or acquisition transaction shall be deposited into the trust fund, provided that any proceeds obtained to reimburse the department of justice pursuant to RSA 356:4-b, or RSA 358-A:6, IV for all costs related to the review, investigation, or litigation of any acquisition or acquisition transaction may be deposited in appropriate funds as designated by the attorney general. The fund may also receive moneys through private contributions or appropriations from the general court. Any amount received in connection with an acquisition or acquisition transaction that would have been deposited into the general fund under RSA 7:6-e or RSA 7:6-f shall be deposited into the trust fund. All moneys in the trust fund shall be nonlapsing and continually appropriated to the department of justice. Any earnings on trust fund moneys shall be added to the trust fund.

III. The attorney general shall administer the health care consumer protection trust fund and may only expend funds in the trust fund upon approval by the health care consumer protection advisory commission established in RSA 7:6-h and the governor and council.

IV. Funds from the health care consumer protection trust fund shall be expended solely for the purpose of benefiting health care consumers in the state and in accordance with any relevant terms of the settlement, judgment, or other resolution by which the funds were received. Expenditures from the trust fund may include, but are not limited to, expenditures by the department of justice, grants to state agencies, grants to municipalities, or grants to non-governmental recipients.

V. The attorney general may, if necessary, negotiate terms in a settlement, judgment, or other resolution that specify a particular use or reasonable restrictions for funds deposited into the health consumer protection trust fund, provided that any specified use must be one that benefits health care consumers in the state.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

1 Health Care Consumer Protection Trust Fund. Amend RSA 7:6-g to read as follows:

7:6-g Health Care Consumer Protection Trust Fund Established.

I. In this section:

(a) "Acquisition transaction" or "acquisition" means transfer of control, direct or indirect, of a health care organization, or of 25 percent or more of the assets thereof, including, but not limited to, purchases, mergers, leases, gifts, consolidations, exchanges, joint ventures, or other transactions involving transfer of control or of 25 percent or more of assets. However, changes in membership of the governing body of a health care organization occurring through regular election or filling of vacancies in accordance with the bylaws thereof do not of themselves constitute acquisition transactions within the meaning of this section.

(b) "Health care organization" means an entity organized to provide health care services including, but not limited to, hospitals, community health services, and medical-surgical or other diagnostic or therapeutic facilities or services, or an entity operating as a health insurer or health maintenance organization.

I-a. The general court finds that proceeds from acquisition transactions involving health care organizations shall be used solely for projects that measurably improve health outcomes for New Hampshire consumers through direct services and implementations, and not for academic research activities.

II. There is hereby established in the state treasury, the health care consumer protection trust fund that shall be kept separate and distinct from all other funds. All proceeds received by the state from any settlement, judgment, or other resolution related to any acquisition or acquisition transaction shall be deposited into the trust fund, provided that any proceeds obtained to reimburse the department of justice pursuant to RSA 356:4-b, or RSA 358-A:6, IV for all costs related to the review, investigation, or litigation of any acquisition or acquisition transaction may be deposited in appropriate funds as designated by the attorney general. The fund may also receive moneys through private contributions or appropriations from the general court. Any amount received in connection with an acquisition or acquisition transaction that would have been deposited into the general fund under RSA 7:6-e or RSA 7:6-f shall be deposited into the trust fund. All moneys in the trust fund shall be nonlapsing and continually appropriated to the department of justice. Any earnings on trust fund moneys shall be added to the trust fund.

III. The attorney general shall administer the health care consumer protection trust fund and may only expend funds in the trust fund upon approval by the health care consumer protection advisory commission established in RSA 7:6-h and the governor .

IV. Funds from the health care consumer protection trust fund shall be expended solely for the purpose of benefiting health care consumers in the state and in accordance with any relevant terms of the settlement, judgment, or other resolution by which the funds were received. Expenditures from the trust fund may include, but are not limited to, expenditures by the department of justice, grants to municipalities, or grants to non-governmental recipients. Grants or contracts to New Hampshire state agencies or instrumentalities are prohibited, and recipients shall not subgrant or subcontract fund moneys to New Hampshire state agencies or instrumentalities.

V.(a) Eligible projects shall be limited to those with defined, prospective, and measurable patient-outcome objectives, including baseline measures, target outcomes, and a plan for data collection and reporting.

(b) Preference shall be given to proposals with quantifiable objectives and payment structures tied to objective milestones or performance metrics. All grants or contracts shall include milestone-based disbursements, reporting schedules, audit rights, and clawback provisions for failure to meet agreed milestones absent good cause as determined by the attorney general after consultation with the advisory commission.

(c) Allowable project categories include, but are not limited to: direct clinical services; care-coordination implementations; patient safety and quality initiatives; technology or workflow deployments in care settings; health-literacy and navigation services linked to measurable utilization or outcomes improvements; and community-based interventions that measurably reduce avoidable morbidity or mortality among New Hampshire residents.

VI. Fund moneys shall not be used to support academic research.

(a) For purposes of this section, "academic research" means basic, applied, or translational research; hypothesis-testing studies; activities with the primary purpose of producing generalizable knowledge; or the development of publishable findings not directly tied to the delivery of patient-care interventions for New Hampshire consumers during the grant period.

(b) Nothing in this paragraph prohibits reasonable evaluation activities necessary to measure outcomes of an otherwise eligible project, provided such evaluation is incidental to and supportive of direct service delivery and is not a primary research endeavor.

VII. The attorney general may, if necessary, negotiate terms in a settlement, judgment, or other resolution that specify a particular use or reasonable restrictions for funds deposited into the health consumer protection trust fund, provided that any specified use must be one that benefits health care consumers in the state.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.