0001| SENATE BILL 368 | 0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| LINDA M. LOPEZ | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| FOR THE HEALTH AND WELFARE REFORM COMMITTEE | 0009| | 0010| AN ACT | 0011| RELATING TO PUBLIC HOSPITALS; PERMITTING CERTAIN HOSPITALS TO | 0012| ENTER INTO JOINT PURCHASING AGREEMENTS; PERMITTING COUNTIES TO | 0013| CREATE NETWORKS OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. | 0014| | 0015| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0016| Section 1. Section 4-48B-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1947, | 0017| Chapter 148, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read: | 0018| "4-48B-5. POWER OF COUNTIES.--All counties shall have | 0019| the following powers: | 0020| A. to purchase, own, maintain and operate | 0021| hospitals; | 0022| B. to purchase the land necessary to construct | 0023| hospitals; | 0024| C. to control and regulate county hospitals; | 0025| D. to construct county hospitals; | - 1 - 0001| E. to issue general obligation bonds and revenue | 0002| bonds in the manner provided in the Hospital Funding Act for | 0003| the construction, purchase, renovation, remodeling, equipping | 0004| or re-equipping of a county hospital or a jointly owned | 0005| county-municipal hospital and purchasing the land necessary | 0006| therefor or for any combination of the foregoing purposes; | 0007| F. to charge for hospital services rendered and to | 0008| reduce any charge made for care of a patient in whole or part | 0009| when the charges are determined to be disputed in good faith | 0010| or uncollectible; | 0011| G. to lease a hospital to any person, corporation | 0012| or association for the operation and maintenance of the | 0013| hospital upon terms and conditions as the county commissioners | 0014| may determine; | 0015| H. to contract with the state, another county or | 0016| counties, the federal government or its agencies, another | 0017| political subdivision or a public or private corporation, | 0018| organization or association for the care of the sick of the | 0019| county; | 0020| I. to receive all funds appropriated from whatever | 0021| source or paid by or on behalf of any patient of the hospital; | 0022| J. notwithstanding any other provision of law, to | 0023| enter into leases, management or operating contracts, health | 0024| care facilities contracts and other agreements authorized by | 0025| the Hospital Funding Act for periods in excess of one year; | - 2 - 0001| provided that the contract, lease or agreement may be | 0002| terminated by the county without cause upon one hundred eighty | 0003| days' notice after the first three years of the contract; | 0004| K. to authorize the hospital governing board of a | 0005| county hospital to exercise all powers that the county is | 0006| granted by the Hospital Funding Act except the powers to issue | 0007| bonds, call a mill levy election and levy the annual | 0008| assessments for the mill levy authorized by ~[the Hospital | 0009| Funding]~ |that| act; | 0010| L. to enter into a health care facilities contract | 0011| with one or more hospitals ~[which]~ |that| agree to provide | 0012| facilities to the sick of the county; | 0013| M. to call a mill levy election as authorized by | 0014| the Hospital Funding Act and to collect and distribute the | 0015| proceeds of the mill levy pursuant to that act; | 0016| N. to distribute the proceeds of the mill levy | 0017| authorized by the Hospital Funding Act to one or more county | 0018| hospitals and one or more contracting hospitals or any | 0019| combination thereof ~[which]~ |that| provide facilities for | 0020| the sick of the county, whether located within or without the | 0021| county wherein the mill levy is collected; | 0022| O. to accept grants for constructing, equipping, | 0023| operating and maintaining a county hospital; | 0024| P. to enter into an agreement with a municipality | 0025| for constructing, equipping, operating and maintaining a | - 3 - 0001| jointly owned county-municipal hospital; | 0002| Q. to enter into an agreement with another county | 0003| or counties, ~[another county or counties and]~ another | 0004| political subdivision, |an agency of the federal government| | 0005| or any other person, corporation, |organization| or | 0006| association ~[which]~ |that| provides that the parties to the | 0007| agreement shall join together for the purpose of making some | 0008| or all purchases necessary for the operation of |public | 0009| hospitals or public and private| hospitals ~[owned or operated | 0010| by the parties; and to designate one of the parties as the | 0011| central purchasing office, as defined in the Public Purchases | 0012| Act ||for the others, to make purchases for the parties to the | 0013| agreement as they shall deem necessary and to comply with the | 0014| provisions of the Public Purchases Act]~ |subject to | 0015| provisions of the Procurement Code|; | 0016| |R. to enter into an agreement with another county | 0017| or counties, another political subdivision, an agency of the | 0018| federal government or any other person that provides that | 0019| parties to the agreement shall join together or form a legal | 0020| entity for the purpose of creating a network of health care | 0021| providers or jointly operating a common health care service, | 0022| subject to provisions of the Procurement Code|; | 0023| ~[R.]~ |S|. to expend public money to recruit | 0024| health care personnel to serve the sick of the county; and | 0025| ~[S.]~ |T|. to perform any other act or adopt any | - 4 - 0001| ~[regulation]~ |rules| necessary or expedient to carry out the | 0002| provisions of the Hospital Funding Act." | 0003| Section 2. A new section of the Procurement Code is | 0004| enacted to read: | 0005| "[|NEW MATERIAL|] HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CARE EXEMPTION.-- | 0006| The provisions of the Procurement Code shall not apply to | 0007| procurement of items of tangible personal property or services | 0008| by a state agency or a local public body through: | 0009| A. an agreement with any other state agency, local | 0010| public body or any other person, corporation, organization or | 0011| association that provides that the parties to the agreement | 0012| are joined together for the purpose of making some or all | 0013| purchases necessary for the operation of public hospitals or | 0014| public and private hospitals, if the state purchasing agent | 0015| makes a determination that the arrangement will or is likely | 0016| to reduce health care costs; or | 0017| B. an agreement with any other state agency, local | 0018| public body or any other person, corporation, organization or | 0019| association which agreement creates a network of health care | 0020| providers or a jointly operated common health care service, | 0021| provided the state purchasing agent makes a determination that | 0022| the arrangement will or is likely to reduce health care costs, | 0023| improve quality of care or improve access to care." | 0024|  |