SENATE BILL 518

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2008

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. Lopez

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC HEALTH; REQUIRING DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE HOSPITAL TRANSPARENCY INFORMATION SYSTEM; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "New Mexico Hospital Transparency Act".

     Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the New Mexico Hospital Transparency Act:

          A. "department" means the department of health;

          B. "hospital" means a facility providing emergency or urgent care, inpatient medical care and nursing care for acute illness, injury, surgery or obstetrics. "Hospital" includes a facility licensed by the department as an acute care hospital or a rehabilitation hospital; and

          C. "secretary" means the secretary of health.

     Section 3. HOSPITAL TRANSPARENCY INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN.--The secretary shall develop a comprehensive hospital transparency information system to provide for the collection, compilation, coordination, analysis, indexing and use of hospital performance data and statistics to produce and report uniform health information and statistics, including hospital infection rates, costs, uncompensated care, quality and clinical outcomes. The secretary may designate or contract with any appropriate person to implement the New Mexico Hospital Transparency Act.

     Section 4. SPECIFIC DUTIES.--The secretary shall:

          A. develop and implement a long-range plan for making hospital services outcomes and other specific performance data available for public viewing;

          B. by September 1, 2008, submit an initial plan and, thereafter, an annual update to the plan and report on the status of implementation to the governor, the president pro tempore of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, with copies to all members of the legislature and available to the public on an internet web site. The initial plan and annual updates shall identify the process and time frames for implementation, barriers to implementation and recommendations for changes in law or regulations to eliminate barriers and improve the transparency report;

          C. make available clinical outcome measures from hospitals and consider:

                (1) inclusion of data on all patients, regardless of the payer source for New Mexico hospitals, and other information that may be required for consumers to assess the value of the product;

                (2) standards recognized by national organizations and federal agencies that establish standards to measure the performance of health care providers;

                (3) data that are adjusted for severity and acuity, using statistical methods that show variation in reported outcomes and that have passed standard edits;

                (4) reporting results with separate documents containing technical specifications and measures;

                (5) standardized reporting; and

                (6) disclosure of the methods of reporting;

          D. select a statewide association representing hospitals that will provide the secretary with:

                (1) the association's organizational documents and rules;

                (2) a plan outlining the organization's consideration of the interests of health care consumers, including health plans and employers; and

                (3) its plans to organize an advisory group to develop and implement infection rate reporting, including:

                     (a) a professional in infection control and epidemiology;

                     (b) a chief executive officer of a New Mexico hospital;

                     (c) a representative of a statewide medical review association;

                     (d) a representative of the university of New Mexico health sciences center;

                     (e) a state epidemiologist; and

                     (f) a representative from a statewide health care consumer advocacy organization;

          E. examine and evaluate the collection, analysis and validity of the data used as a basis for the report; and

          F. ensure that the department is prepared to assume the duties of implementing the New Mexico Hospital Transparency Act if the organization selected to report does not complete its contract, including use of the advisory group described in Subsection D of this section and consideration of the interests of health care consumers, health plans, employers and hospital providers. 

     Section 5. COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL LAW.--Data collected under the provisions of the New Mexico Hospital Transparency Act shall not include personally identifiable health information and shall be collected in compliance with the limitations of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

     Section 6. REPORT.--The secretary shall issue a transparency report to be made available on an internet web site in a manner that allows consumers to conduct an interactive search to view information for specific hospitals.

          A. The web site shall include additional information, including:

                (1) instructions on ways to use the data; and

                (2) an explanation of reasons that the data may vary from hospital to hospital.

          B. The secretary shall allow a hospital thirty days for comment on and inclusion in the final hospital transparency report for correction or for explanation of the data.

     Section 7. APPROPRIATION.--Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) is appropriated to the department of health for expenditure in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to establish a report pursuant to the provisions of the New Mexico Hospital Transparency Act prior to publishing the report on an internet web site. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the general fund.

     Section 8. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.

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