44th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2000

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION TO REPORT TO THE INTERIM REVENUE STABILIZATION AND TAX POLICY COMMITTEE ON HOSPITAL AND OTHER HEALTH CARE FACILITY COMPLIANCE WITH CHARITY CARE DATA COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS; DIRECTING THE COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER A PROPOSAL TO LINK ELIGIBILITY FOR A GROSS RECEIPTS TAX EXEMPTION OR DEDUCTION TO THE FACILITY'S COMPLIANCE WITH THE CHARITY CARE DATA REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

WHEREAS, in 1997 the legislature passed House Joint Memorial 18, calling for the New Mexico health policy commission to adopt uniform definitions and standard measures for uncompensated care provided by hospitals and other health care facilities, to require reporting of uncompensated care to the state and to provide for a way to report and uniformly track health care cost shifting; and

WHEREAS, House Joint Memorial 18 proposed that minimum levels of charity care for hospitals and other health care facilities govern the facilities' right to tax exemptions and deductions; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to House Joint Memorial 18, the New Mexico health policy commission issued its findings and recommendations in May 1998 in a report titled House Joint Memorial 18: Uncompensated Care in New Mexico Health Care Facilities; and

WHEREAS, in compliance with recommendations in that report, the New Mexico health policy commission in December 1998 adopted a regulation pursuant to the Health Information System Act requiring state-licensed nonfederal general and specialty inpatient health care facilities and certain other health care facilities to report certain charity care data; and

WHEREAS, only ten of twenty-six hospitals have attempted to comply with the requirement and to provide some of the data required; and

WHEREAS, a number of states tie tax exemptions or deductions to the amount of charity care that a hospital or health facility provides, and it may be appropriate to consider amendments to the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act linking compliance with charity care data reporting requirements to a facility's tax treatment;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it request the New Mexico health policy commission to report to the interim revenue stabilization and tax policy committee on hospital and other health facility compliance with its regulation requiring charity care data reporting pursuant to the Health Information System Act; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, based on information regarding the compliance of hospitals and health care facilities, the revenue stabilization and tax policy committee shall consider tying the gross receipts and compensating tax exemptions and deductions applicable to hospitals and health facilities to the hospital's or facility's compliance with the charity care data reporting requirements; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the revenue stabilization and tax policy committee report its findings and recommendations for legislation by December 15, 2000 to the first session of the forty-fifth legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico legislative council, the revenue stabilization and tax policy committee and the New Mexico health policy commission for distribution to all hospitals and health care facilities subject to charity care data reporting requirements.