Bill > H1398

This bill introduces new regulations for hospitals that receive funding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, focusing on limiting excessive profits and executive compensation. The legislation defines key terms such as "facility" (which includes various types of hospitals and acute care units), "compensation" (encompassing salary, bonuses, perks, and other financial benefits), and "minimum facility compensation" (based on the lowest-paid full-time employee's wage). The bill establishes two primary financial constraints: first, hospitals with less than 60% government-payer patients will face a civil penalty if their annual operating margin exceeds 8%; second, if a hospital's chief executive officer's annual compensation is more than 50 times the minimum facility compensation, the hospital will be subject to a civil penalty for the excess amount. Additionally, the bill requires hospitals to annually report all financial assets to the Center for Health Information and Analysis, with these reports to be made public within seven days. Penalties collected under this act will be deposited into a new Medicaid Reimbursement Enhancement Fund, which can be used to improve Medicaid reimbursements to eligible hospitals. The Health Policy Commission will be responsible for creating regulations to implement and enforce the law, and the bill includes a severability clause to ensure that if any part of the law is found invalid, the rest remains in effect.

Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1398