Bill > S917

This bill addresses the financial sustainability of the Health Safety Net (HSN), a program that helps reimburse hospitals and community health centers for providing healthcare services to uninsured and underinsured patients. The bill makes several key changes: it increases the annual transfer to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund from $30 million to $60 million; introduces a new "supplemental shortfall assessment" where managed care organizations (excluding Medicaid managed care organizations) would be required to cover 50 percent of any projected revenue shortfall in the HSN Trust Fund; and establishes a comprehensive framework for how this assessment will be calculated, collected, and administered. The bill grants the executive office of health and human services authority to estimate projected healthcare service costs, determine shortfall amounts, and set assessment rates. It also provides detailed guidelines for how managed care organizations will be assessed, including establishing reporting requirements, payment mechanisms, and provisions for handling excess payments or organizational changes. The overall goal is to ensure the Health Safety Net has sufficient funding to continue reimbursing hospitals and community health centers for providing essential healthcare services to vulnerable populations.

Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S917