HF 1809

1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to health; providing grants and other funding to safety net health care
providers; requiring grants for unreimbursed health care costs; appropriating
money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections 144.3345, subdivision 2;
256B.0625, subdivision 30, by adding a subdivision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 144.3345, subdivision 2, is amended to
read:

Subd. 2.

Grants authorized.

new text begin (a) new text end The commissioner of health shall award grants
to eligible community e-health collaborative projects new text begin and to individual organizations
as specified in paragraph (b) new text end to improve the implementation and use of interoperable
electronic health records including but not limited to the following projects:

(1) collaborative efforts to host and support fully functional interoperable electronic
health records in multiple care settings;

(2) electronic medication history and electronic patient registration information;

(3) electronic personal health records for persons with chronic diseases and for
prevention services;

(4) rural and underserved community models for electronic prescribing; and

(5) enabling local public health systems to rapidly and electronically exchange
information needed to participate in community e-health collaboratives or for public
health emergency preparedness and response.

Grant funds may not be used for construction of health care or other buildings or
facilities.

new text begin (b) The commissioner shall award grants to community clinics as defined under
section 145.9268, subdivision 1, federally qualified health centers, community mental
health centers, community dental clinics that primarily serve low-income and uninsured
persons, and nonprofit organizations that provide public health home nursing services to
uninsured patients, for the purposes listed in paragraph (a). An organization must not
be required to be part of a community e-health collaborative in order to receive a grant
under this paragraph.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 256B.0625, subdivision 30, is amended to
read:

Subd. 30.

Other clinic services.

(a) Medical assistance covers rural health clinic
services, federally qualified health center services, nonprofit community health clinic
services, public health clinic services, and the services of a clinic meeting the criteria
established in rule by the commissioner. Rural health clinic services and federally
qualified health center services mean services defined in United States Code, title 42,
section 1396d(a)(2)(B) and (C). Payment for rural health clinic and federally qualified
health center services shall be made according to applicable federal law and regulation.

(b) A federally qualified health center that is beginning initial operation shall submit
an estimate of budgeted costs and visits for the initial reporting period in the form and
detail required by the commissioner. A federally qualified health center that is already in
operation shall submit an initial report using actual costs and visits for the initial reporting
period. Within 90 days of the end of its reporting period, a federally qualified health
center shall submit, in the form and detail required by the commissioner, a report of
its operations, including allowable costs actually incurred for the period and the actual
number of visits for services furnished during the period, and other information required
by the commissioner. Federally qualified health centers that file Medicare cost reports
shall provide the commissioner with a copy of the most recent Medicare cost report filed
with the Medicare program intermediary for the reporting year which support the costs
claimed on their cost report to the state.

(c) In order to continue cost-based payment under the medical assistance program
according to paragraphs (a) and (b), a federally qualified health center or rural health clinic
must apply for designation as an essential community provider within six months of final
adoption of rules by the Department of Health according to section 62Q.19, subdivision
7. For those federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics that have applied
for essential community provider status within the six-month time prescribed, medical
assistance payments will continue to be made according to paragraphs (a) and (b) for the
first three years after application. For federally qualified health centers and rural health
clinics that either do not apply within the time specified above or who have had essential
community provider status for three years, medical assistance payments for health services
provided by these entities shall be according to the same rates and conditions applicable
to the same service provided by health care providers that are not federally qualified
health centers or rural health clinics.

(d) Effective July 1, 1999, the provisions of paragraph (c) requiring a federally
qualified health center or a rural health clinic to make application for an essential
community provider designation in order to have cost-based payments made according
to paragraphs (a) and (b) no longer apply.

(e) Effective January 1, 2000, payments made according to paragraphs (a) and (b)
shall be limited to the cost phase-out schedule of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

(f) Effective January 1, 2001, each federally qualified health center and rural health
clinic may elect to be paid either under the prospective payment system established
in United States Code, title 42, section 1396a(aa), or under an alternative payment
methodology consistent with the requirements of United States Code, title 42, section
1396a(aa), and approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The
alternative payment methodology shall be 100 percent of deleted text begin cost deleted text end new text begin costs new text end as determined
deleted text begin according to deleted text end new text begin by generally accepted accounting principles, and annual new text end Medicare cost
deleted text begin principles deleted text end new text begin reports, including Medicaid-eligible cost add-ons new text end .

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 256B.0625, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 39a. new text end

new text begin Influenza vaccine. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of human services shall reimburse
providers for administration of influenza vaccine to enrollees at the payment rate set
by the Medicare program.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin UNCOMPENSATED CARE FUND.
new text end

new text begin The commissioner of health shall study and present recommendations to the
governor and the legislature by January 15, 2008, on the design, operation, and funding
of an uncompensated care fund to be used to provide subsidies to hospitals, community
clinics, federally qualified health centers, community mental health centers, and other
health care providers that serve a disproportionately large percentage of uninsured patients.
An organization must not provide or perform abortion services under this program.
new text end

Sec. 5. new text begin GRANT FOR TOLL-FREE HEALTH CARE ACCESS NUMBER.
new text end

new text begin The commissioner of human services shall award a grant to the Neighborhood
Health Care Network to pay the costs of maintaining and staffing a toll-free telephone
number to provide callers with information on health coverage options, eligibility for
MinnesotaCare and other health care programs, and health care providers that offer free or
reduced-cost health care services.
new text end

Sec. 6. new text begin GRANTS FOR UNREIMBURSED COSTS.
new text end

new text begin The commissioner of health shall award grants to community clinics defined under
Minnesota Statutes, section 145.9268, subdivision 1, federally qualified health centers,
community mental health centers, hospitals for which uninsured patients represent
six percent or more of patient visits, community dental clinics that primarily serve
low-income and uninsured persons, and nonprofit organizations that provide public health
home nursing services to uninsured patients. Grants must be used to cover the cost of
unreimbursed health care services provided to patients who are uninsured. In awarding
grants, the commissioner shall give preference to applicants for which costs related to
unreimbursed health care services provided to uninsured patients represent a significant
proportion of total costs.
new text end

Sec. 7. new text begin APPROPRIATIONS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin General fund. new text end

new text begin $....... for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, and
$....... for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, are appropriated from the general fund to
the commissioner of health for the loan forgiveness program established under Minnesota
Statutes, section 144.1501, to be used to address shortages of health care professionals
practicing in primary care clinics, community health centers, community mental health
centers, and community dental clinics that primarily serve low-income and uninsured
patients.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Health care access fund. new text end

new text begin (a) $....... is appropriated from the health care
access fund to the commissioner of health for the biennium ending June 30, 2009, to
provide grants under Minnesota Statutes, section 144.3345, subdivision 2, paragraph (b).
new text end

new text begin (b) $....... is appropriated from the health care access fund to the commissioner of
human services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, to provide a grant to a research
center associated with a safety net hospital and county-affiliated health system to develop
the capabilities necessary for evaluating the effects of changes in state health policies on
low-income and uninsured individuals, including the impact on state health care program
costs, health outcomes, cost-shifting to different units and levels of government, and
utilization patterns including use of emergency room care and hospitalization rates.
new text end

new text begin (c) $....... is appropriated from the health care access fund to the commissioner of
human services for the biennium ending June 30, 2009, for a grant to support the toll-free
telephone number under section 5.
new text end

new text begin (d) $....... is appropriated from the health care access fund to the commissioner
of health for the biennium ending June 30, 2009, for grants to safety net providers for
unreimbursed health care costs under section 6.
new text end