HF 3980

1st Engrossment - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/16/2020 11:45am

A bill for an act
relating to public health; creating a health care response account and a provider
grant and loan program; transferring money to the health care response account
and the public health response contingency account; amending Minnesota Statutes
2018, section 144.4199, subdivision 4; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 144.

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

Section 1.

new text begin [144.4188] HEALTH CARE RESPONSE ACCOUNT AND PROVIDER
GRANT AND LOAN PROGRAM.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to this section.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Account" means the health care response account established in this section.
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new text begin (c) "Communicable disease" means an infectious disease or condition that causes serious
illness, serious disability, or death, the infectious agent of which may pass or be carried,
directly or indirectly, from person to person.
new text end

new text begin (d) "Eligible provider" means an ambulance service; health care provider; health care
clinic; health care or long-term care facility, including but not limited to a hospital, nursing
facility, or regulated setting where assisted living services are provided; or health system.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Health care response account. new text end

new text begin (a) A health care response account is created
in the special revenue fund in the state treasury. Money in the account does not cancel and
is appropriated to the commissioner of health to:
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new text begin (1) make grants and no-interest loans to eligible providers for costs related to planning
for, preparing for, or responding to an outbreak of a communicable disease that meets one
or more of the criteria in section 144.4199, subdivision 3, clause (3); and
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new text begin (2) administer the grant and loan program under this section, including carrying out the
commissioner's due diligence duties under this section.
new text end

new text begin (b) Interest earned on money in the account is credited to the account.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Determination criteria; notice. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner may make grants and
loans from the account upon determinations by the commissioner that:
new text end

new text begin (1) an outbreak of a communicable disease has occurred in the state or is likely to occur
in the state;
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new text begin (2) one or more of the criteria in section 144.4199, subdivision 3, clause (3), is met; and
new text end

new text begin (3) one or more categories of eligible providers may need additional resources on an
urgent or emergency basis to plan for, prepare for, or respond to the communicable disease
outbreak.
new text end

new text begin (b) Prior to making grants or loans under this section, the commissioner must provide
written notice to the governor and the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative
committees with jurisdiction over health care finance and policy specifying the communicable
disease necessitating issuance of grants and loans; an estimated amount of grants and loans
that may be issued; and a description of how eligible providers anticipate using the funds
to plan for, prepare for, or respond to a communicable disease.
new text end

new text begin (c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), the commissioner may make grants and
loans from the account to eligible providers to plan for, prepare for, or respond to a
communicable disease outbreak that meets one or more of the criteria in section 144.4199,
subdivision 3, clause (3), if the commissioner is making expenditures for the same
communicable disease outbreak from the public health response contingency account under
section 144.4199.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Grants and loans. new text end

new text begin The commissioner may make grants and no-interest loans
to eligible providers that demonstrate a need on an urgent or emergency basis to plan for,
prepare for, or respond to a communicable disease outbreak that has occurred or is likely
to occur in the state for a communicable disease that meets one or more of the criteria in
section 144.4199, subdivision 3, clause (3). The commissioner shall determine the number
of grants issued, number of loans issued, and grant and loan amounts. The commissioner
shall establish priorities for the issuance of grants and loans by assessing:
new text end

new text begin (1) the needs across the health care system for additional resources to plan for, prepare
for, and respond to a communicable disease outbreak;
new text end

new text begin (2) whether the eligible provider may be reimbursed from another source for the cost of
planning for, preparing for, or responding to a communicable disease outbreak; and
new text end

new text begin (3) whether the eligible provider lacks sufficient access to other resources to respond to
a communicable disease outbreak in a timely manner or would be financially at risk without
a grant or loan under this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Application; grant agreement; loan agreement. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner shall
develop a single application form and application process for grants and loans under this
section. An applicant must provide the following information in the application:
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new text begin (1) applicant financial information, including but not limited to audited financial
statements, income statements, or cost reports;
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new text begin (2) how the applicant anticipates using the grant, loan, or both;
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new text begin (3) the requested grant amount, requested loan amount, or both;
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new text begin (4) an explanation of how the grant, loan, or both will allow the applicant to address
shortcomings or needs in the applicant's planning, preparation for, or response to a
communicable disease outbreak; and
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new text begin (5) other information deemed necessary by the commissioner to evaluate grant or loan
applications.
new text end

new text begin (b) Before issuing a grant to an applicant, the commissioner must obtain a signed grant
agreement from the applicant.
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new text begin (c) Before issuing a loan to an applicant, the commissioner must obtain:
new text end

new text begin (1) a signed loan agreement from the applicant specifying how the loan is to be used;
and
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new text begin (2) a promissory note specifying repayment conditions and default provisions.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Allowable uses of funds. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner may issue grants for costs of:
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new text begin (1) staff overtime and hiring additional staff;
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new text begin (2) staff training and orientation;
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new text begin (3) purchasing consumable protective or treatment supplies and equipment to protect or
treat staff, visitors, and patients;
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new text begin (4) development and implementation of screening and testing procedures;
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new text begin (5) patient outreach activities;
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new text begin (6) additional emergency transportation of patients;
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new text begin (7) temporary information technology and systems costs to support patient triage,
screening, and telemedicine activities; and
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new text begin (8) other expenses that, in the judgment of the commissioner, cannot reasonably be
expected to generate income for the eligible provider after the outbreak ends.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner may issue loans for costs that include but are not limited to:
new text end

new text begin (1) the purchase of permanent equipment to treat affected patients; and
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new text begin (2) capital improvements or structural modifications related to testing, isolation,
quarantine, or treatment of patients.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Condition of accepting grant or loan. new text end

new text begin As a condition of accepting a grant or
loan under this section to plan for, prepare for, or respond to SARS-CoV-2 virus and
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an eligible provider must agree not to bill uninsured
patients for services related to screening for, testing for, or treating COVID-19.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Loan repayments. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner shall establish a process for loan
repayments. A loan recipient must begin repaying the loan no later than one year after the
date of the loan, except that the commissioner may delay the start of the loan repayment
period if needed because of undue financial hardship of the loan recipient or continuation
of the outbreak.
new text end

new text begin (b) All repayments must be credited to the account.
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new text begin (c) A loan must be amortized no later than five years after the date of the loan.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Evaluation; reports. new text end

new text begin (a) During the application process and following issuance
of a grant or loan, the commissioner may require applicants, grant recipients, and loan
recipients to provide the commissioner with information for the commissioner to evaluate
the need for or use of the grant or loan.
new text end

new text begin (b) By January 15 of each of the two years following a calendar year in which grants or
loans are issued under this section, the commissioner shall report the following information
to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction
over health and human services policy and finance:
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new text begin (1) the total number of grants issued and total number of loans issued in each of the
previous two calendar years;
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new text begin (2) the total amount of money issued as grants in each of the previous two calendar
years;
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new text begin (3) the total amount of money issued as loans in each of the previous two calendar years;
and
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new text begin (4) for each grant or loan recipient in the previous two calendar years, the name of the
recipient, grant amount or loan amount, uses of grant or loan funds, and amount spent for
each use.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 10. new text end

new text begin Data classification. new text end

new text begin (a) The following data collected by the commissioner
during the application process under subdivisions 4 and 9 are private data on individuals,
as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 12, or nonpublic data, as defined in section 13.02,
subdivision 9: (1) financial information about the applicant, including credit reports; (2)
financial statements; (3) net worth calculations; (4) business plans; (5) income and expense
projections; (6) balance sheets; (7) customer sheets and data on patients; (8) income tax
returns; and (9) design, market, and feasibility studies not paid for with public funds.
new text end

new text begin (b) Data specified in paragraph (a) become public when the applicant receives a grant
or loan, except that the following data remain private data on individuals or nonpublic data:
business plans; income and expense projections not related to the grant or loan provided;
customer lists and data on patients; income tax returns; and design, market, and feasibility
studies not paid for with public funds.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 144.4199, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Uses of funds.

(a) When the determination criteria in subdivision 3 are satisfied
and the commissioner has complied with subdivisions 5, paragraph (a), and 7, the
commissioner may make expenditures from the public health response contingency account
for the following purposes attributable to a public health response:

(1) staffing;

(2) information technology;

(3) supplies, equipment, and services to protect people in the affected area or population,
health care providers, and public safety workers;

(4) training for and coordination with local public health departments and health care
providers;

(5) communication with and outreach to affected areas or populations;

(6) to provide a state match for federal assistance obtained for the public health response;

(7) laboratory testing, including enhancements to laboratory capacity necessary to conduct
testing related to the event, and supplies, equipment, shipping, and security;

(8) the purchase of vaccines, antibiotics, antivirals, and other medical resources to prevent
the spread of the pandemic influenza or communicable or infectious disease or to treat
related medical conditions;

(9) reimbursement to community health boards or other local units of government for
incurred costs for the goods and services listed in clauses (1) to (8) that are attributable to
the public health response;

(10) reimbursement to health care organizations and health care providers for incurred
costs that are attributable to the public health response; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(11) funding to support other state agencies for costs incurred by those agencies that are
attributable to the public health response deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (12) payments to ambulance services; health care providers; health care clinics; health
care and long-term care facilities, including but not limited to hospitals, nursing facilities,
and regulated settings at which assisted living services are provided; and health systems for
costs of actions that are necessary on an emergency basis to plan for, prepare for, or respond
to the pandemic influenza or communicable or infectious disease.
new text end

(b) Money in the account must not be used to increase the total number of full-time
equivalent permanent employees at the Department of Health, unless expressly authorized
by law. Money in the account shall be used only for public health response activities to
protect the health and safety of the public.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin TRANSFERS; HEALTH CARE RESPONSE ACCOUNT; PUBLIC HEALTH
RESPONSE CONTINGENCY ACCOUNT.
new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner of management and budget shall transfer $79,300,000 from the
general fund to the health care response account under Minnesota Statutes, section 144.4188,
for administration of the provider grant and loan program by the commissioner of health
and for issuance of grants and loans under Minnesota Statutes, section 144.4188.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner of management and budget shall transfer $20,000,000 from the
general fund to the public health response contingency account under Minnesota Statutes,
section 144.4199, for payments under Minnesota Statutes, section 144.4199, subdivision
4, paragraph (a), clause (12).
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end