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SPONSOR: |
Papen |
DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Amend Primary Care Capital Funding Act |
SB |
800 |
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ANALYST: |
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APPROPRIATION
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Appropriation
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Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
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NFI |
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to Relates
to: SB 387, HB 719, HB 850, SB 795, SB 784
Responses
Received From
Department
of Health (DOH)
Health
Policy Commission (HPC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of Bill
Senate Bill 800 amends and expand
the Primary Care Capital Funding Act to include free-standing behavioral health
clinics as an eligible entity to apply for loans, add new language that no more
than fifty percent of a loan may be repaid through contracts for service, and
permit refinancing of existing loans through the program.
Significant
Issues
As reflected in the existing law, the NM Finance Authority
(NMFA) and the Department of Health (DOH) jointly administer the Primary Care
Capital Funding Act. SB 800 would expand
the Primary Care Capital Funding Act to allow behavioral health clinics to receive
loans for capital projects, which will place behavioral health serves on a parity with physical health services.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
SB 800 has no appropriation and no direct
fiscal implications for the Department of Health. However, the bill raises concerns of the DOH
that current funding might not be adequate to meet current obligations and
allow the proposed expansions.
SB 800 would expand the Primary Care
Capital Fund (PCCF) to nonprofit behavioral health clinics, which will provide
parity across behavioral health and physical health services. It appears that this inclusion appropriately
applies only to those behavioral health clinics that operate in a rural or
other health underserved area, that have less than $10 million in assets, and which
are 501 (c) (3), nonprofit organizations. SB 800 also would allow the program
to be utilized for refinancing of existing loans. Both of these changes could
put considerable financial pressures on the limited dollars in the fund.
Currently the PCCF has a balance of approximately $1.5 million. This amount
might be insufficient to meet the needs of an expanded pool of eligible
entities and could mean that the original eligible entities might not have
their capital needs met or receive significantly reduced amounts.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
SB 800 would have some administrative
impact upon the DOH, which coordinates the program jointly with the NM Finance
Authority. Existing Department staff would be required to spend additional
staff time to develop new regulations and provide technical assistance and
support to these new requirements.
RELATIONSHIP
Relates
to:
·
SB 387 which would appropriate $600,000
for the provision of women’s alcoholism and substance abuse treatment services
and $400,000 for a regional medically supervised alcohol and substance
detoxification program for alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and
patient’s psychiatric needs to a facility in Velarde, New Mexico.
·
HB 719, which would appropriate $22,500,00 for an eight-county
regional alcohol treatment center in De Baca County.
·
HB 850 which would appropriate $1,700,00 to plan, design and operate a 12-bed psychiatric
inpatient mental health facility in southern
·
SB 795, which would appropriate of $500,00 for the development and implementation of an assertive, integrated
community-based psychosocial treatment and rehabilitation program in
·
SB 784, which would appropriate $60,000
for alcohol and substance abuse treatment services in Talpa
in
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
DOH reports that the community-based
non-profit primary care sector is responding to the Presidential Community
Health Center Initiative for the nation aiming to double the number of new or
expanded community-based primary care centers nationwide by 2006. All new
centers receiving this funding are required to provide both medical and dental
services to their patients. Primary care centers in
The changes proposed in SB 800 limiting
the percentage for contracts for service appear to be consistent with the
original intentions of the PCCF program. Currently the percentage negotiated by
the Department and the NMFA is 20% which is an increased amount from that
originally implemented. Clearly the
intentions of the original program were that there would be some cash repayment
in order to keep the fund solvent but that there also be
a mechanism to permit credit for repayment through service to the sick and
medically indigent patients at the facility.
HPC notes the the inclusion of mental health professionals by SB800 will allow community based non-profit mental health professionals in New Mexico access to a source of lower cost capital funding than is currently available to many of them. Possibly the feasibility of capital projects will be improved, and consequently the possibility for better access to mental health services would be enhanced with their inclusion.
HPC also says that with the inclusion of mental health professional and behavioral health clinics in the capital fund as is proposed in SB800, there will a greater competition for the existing funds. Non-behavioral clinics may find the funding of their capital needs more difficult in the future, which could compromise the viability of expansion plans for some of the clinics.
Define
which mental health professionals are included as eligible for funding under
the Act.
Add “behavioral health” to page 6,line 19 after
“primary care.”
BD/sb