HOUSE BILL 103

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

William "Bill" R. Rehm

AN ACT

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE; REQUIRING A CLASS A COUNTY WITH A COUNTY HOSPITAL OPERATED AND MAINTAINED PURSUANT TO A LEASE OR OPERATING AGREEMENT WITH A STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION NAMED IN ARTICLE 12, SECTION 11 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO TO REPORT ON INDIGENT HEALTH CARE.

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

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] INDIGENT HEALTH CARE REPORT REQUIRED OF CLASS A COUNTY.--

          A. A class A county with a county hospital operated and maintained pursuant to a lease or operating agreement with a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico shall file an annual report on all of its indigent health care funding. The report shall contain such county's eligibility criteria for indigent patients, services provided to indigent patients, restrictions on services provided to indigent patients, conditions for reimbursement of providers of health care, revenue sources used to pay for indigent health care and other related information as determined by the legislative finance committee. The report shall separately state:

                (1) the amount of such county's contribution to the operation and maintenance of its county hospital pursuant to a lease or operating agreement with a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico; and

                (2) the actual cost of indigent care services with a breakdown by category of service setting.

          B. The report required by Subsection A of this section shall be submitted by October 1 of each year to the human services department and to the legislative finance committee on a form approved by the committee. The department and the committee shall make the report available to interested parties.

          C. For purposes of this section, "indigent patient" means a person to whom an ambulance service, a hospital or a health care provider has provided medical care, ambulance transportation or health care services and who can normally support the person's self and the person's dependents on present income and liquid assets available to the person but, taking into consideration the person's income, assets and requirements for other necessities of life for the person and the person's dependents, is unable to pay the cost of the ambulance transportation or medical care administered or both; provided that if a definition of "indigent patient" is adopted by a county in a resolution, the definition shall not include any person whose annual income together with that person's spouse's annual income totals an amount that is fifty percent greater than the per capita personal income for New Mexico as shown for the most recent year available in the survey of current business published by the United States department of commerce. "Indigent patient" includes a minor who has received ambulance transportation or medical care or both and whose parent or the person having custody of that minor would qualify as an indigent patient if transported by ambulance, admitted to a hospital for care or treated by a health care provider.

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