Senate Bill sb0598

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 598

    By Senator Fasano





    11-613-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public medical assistance;

  3         amending s. 395.701, F.S.; removing the annual

  4         assessment on hospital outpatient services to

  5         fund public medical assistance; repealing s.

  6         395.7015, F.S., which provides for an annual

  7         assessment on certain other health care

  8         entities to fund public medical assistance;

  9         amending s. 395.7016, F.S., which provides for

10         annual appropriations to replace funds lost due

11         to reductions made by ch. 2000-256, Laws of

12         Florida, to remove reductions in the assessment

13         under s. 395.7015, F.S.; providing an effective

14         date.

15  

16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

17  

18         Section 1.  Section 395.701, Florida Statutes, is

19  amended to read:

20         395.701  Annual assessments on net operating revenues

21  for inpatient and outpatient services to fund public medical

22  assistance; administrative fines for failure to pay

23  assessments when due; exemption.--

24         (1)  For the purposes of this section, the term:

25         (a)  "Agency" means the Agency for Health Care

26  Administration.

27         (b)  "Gross operating revenue" or "gross revenue" means

28  the sum of daily hospital service charges, ambulatory service

29  charges, ancillary service charges, and other operating

30  revenue.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 598
    11-613-03




 1         (c)  "Hospital" means a health care institution as

 2  defined in s. 395.002(13), but does not include any hospital

 3  operated by the agency or the Department of Corrections.

 4         (d)  "Net operating revenue" or "net revenue" means

 5  gross revenue less deductions from revenue.

 6         (e)  "Total deductions from gross revenue" or

 7  "deductions from revenue" means reductions from gross revenue

 8  resulting from inability to collect payment of charges.  Such

 9  reductions include bad debts; contractual adjustments;

10  uncompensated care; administrative, courtesy, and policy

11  discounts and adjustments; and other such revenue deductions,

12  but also includes the offset of restricted donations and

13  grants for indigent care.

14         (2)(a)  There is imposed upon each hospital an

15  assessment in an amount equal to 1.5 percent of the annual net

16  operating revenue for inpatient services for each hospital,

17  such revenue to be determined by the agency, based on the

18  actual experience of the hospital as reported to the agency.

19  Within 6 months after the end of each hospital fiscal year,

20  the agency shall certify the amount of the assessment for each

21  hospital.  The assessment shall be payable to and collected by

22  the agency in equal quarterly amounts, on or before the first

23  day of each calendar quarter, beginning with the first full

24  calendar quarter that occurs after the agency certifies the

25  amount of the assessment for each hospital. All moneys

26  collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into

27  the Public Medical Assistance Trust Fund.

28         (b)  There is imposed upon each hospital an assessment

29  in an amount equal to 1 percent of the annual net operating

30  revenue for outpatient services for each hospital, such

31  revenue to be determined by the agency, based on the actual

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 598
    11-613-03




 1  experience of the hospital as reported to the agency. While

 2  prior year report worksheets may be reconciled to the

 3  hospital's audited financial statements, no additional audited

 4  financial components may be required for the purposes of

 5  determining the amount of the assessment imposed pursuant to

 6  this section other than those in effect on July 1, 2000.

 7  Within 6 months after the end of each hospital fiscal year,

 8  the agency shall certify the amount of the assessment for each

 9  hospital. The assessment shall be payable to and collected by

10  the agency in equal quarterly amounts, on or before the first

11  day of each calendar quarter, beginning with the first full

12  calendar quarter that occurs after the agency certifies the

13  amount of the assessment for each hospital. All moneys

14  collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into

15  the Public Medical Assistance Trust Fund.

16         (3)  The agency shall impose an administrative fine,

17  not to exceed $500 per day, for failure of any hospital to pay

18  its assessment by the first day of the calendar quarter on

19  which it is due.  The failure of a hospital to pay its

20  assessment within 30 days after the assessment is due is

21  ground for the agency to impose an administrative fine not to

22  exceed $5,000 per day.

23         (4)  The purchaser, successor, or assignee of a

24  facility subject to the agency's jurisdiction shall assume

25  full liability for any assessments, fines, or penalties of the

26  facility or its employees, regardless of when identified.

27  Such assessments, fines, or penalties shall be paid by the

28  employee, owner, or licensee who incurred them, within 15 days

29  of the sale, transfer, or assignment.  However, the purchaser,

30  successor, or assignee of the facility may withhold such

31  assessments, fines, or penalties from purchase moneys or

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 598
    11-613-03




 1  payment due to the seller, transferor, or employee, and shall

 2  make such payment on behalf of the seller, transferor, or

 3  employee.  Any employer, purchaser, successor, or assignee who

 4  fails to withhold sufficient funds to pay assessments, fines,

 5  or penalties arising under the provisions of chapter 408 shall

 6  make such payments within 15 days of the date of the transfer,

 7  purchase, or assignment.  Failure by the transferee to make

 8  payments as provided in this subsection shall subject such

 9  transferee to the penalties and assessments provided in

10  chapter 408.  Further, in the event of sale, transfer, or

11  assignment of any facility under the agency's jurisdiction,

12  future assessments shall be based upon the most recently

13  available prior year report or audited actual experience for

14  the facility.  It shall be the responsibility of the new owner

15  or licensee to require the production of the audited financial

16  data for the period of operation of the prior owner.  If the

17  transferee fails to obtain current audited financial data from

18  the previous owner or licensee, the new owner shall be

19  assessed based upon the most recent year of operation for

20  which 12 months of audited actual experience are available or

21  upon a reasonable estimate of 12 months of full operation as

22  calculated by the agency.

23         (5)  A statutory teaching hospital that had 100,000 or

24  more Medicaid covered days during the most recent fiscal year

25  may elect to have its assessment imposed pursuant to

26  subsection (2) deducted from any Medicaid disproportionate

27  share payment due to such hospital for the quarter ending 6

28  months after the assessment due date.  If the assessment is

29  greater than the disproportionate share payment, or if no

30  disproportionate share payment is due the hospital, the

31  difference, or full amount of the assessment in cases in which

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 598
    11-613-03




 1  no payment is due, shall be paid on or before the date the

 2  disproportionate share payment is made or would have been

 3  made.

 4         (6)  Outpatient radiation therapy services provided by

 5  a hospital subject to this section are exempt from the

 6  provisions of this section.

 7         Section 2.  Section 395.7015, Florida Statutes, is

 8  repealed.

 9         Section 3.  Section 395.7016, Florida Statutes, is

10  amended to read:

11         395.7016  Annual appropriation.--The Legislature shall

12  appropriate each fiscal year from either the General Revenue

13  Fund or the Agency for Health Care Administration Tobacco

14  Settlement Trust Fund an amount sufficient to replace the

15  funds lost due to reduction by chapter 2000-256, Laws of

16  Florida, of the assessment on other health care entities under

17  s. 395.7015, and the reduction by chapter 2000-256 in the

18  assessment on hospitals under s. 395.701, and to maintain

19  federal approval of the reduced amount of funds deposited into

20  the Public Medical Assistance Trust Fund under s. 395.701, as

21  state match for the state's Medicaid program.

22         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

23  law.

24  

25            *****************************************

26                          SENATE SUMMARY

27    Removes the annual assessments on hospital outpatient
      services and certain other health care entities to fund
28    public medical assistance.

29  

30  

31  

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