Bill > H824

This bill mandates that if an Acute Hospital, which is a hospital providing general medical and surgical services, reports an operating margin exceeding 5 percent in a fiscal year, the division of insurance must hold a public hearing within 60 days. During this hearing, the hospital must explain its financial condition, justify the need for such a high operating margin, detail its efforts in cost containment and quality improvement, and specify how much of the excess margin will be used to reduce healthcare costs. The center for health and information and analysis will then review this testimony and issue a report, using data previously collected by hospitals. Furthermore, the bill requires the center for health and information and analysis, in consultation with the division of insurance, to establish regulations by July 1, 2013, for a uniform method of calculating and reporting hospital costs and operating margins for all types of business, including commercial and government payers like Medicaid and Medicare, and to consult with various healthcare stakeholders before finalizing these regulations.