Bill > S623

This bill aims to increase hospital profit and fairness by establishing penalties for hospitals that exceed certain financial thresholds and by increasing transparency in hospital finances. Specifically, any hospital that receives funds from the Commonwealth and has a patient mix where less than 60% are government payers, will face a civil penalty if their annual operating margin, which includes costs like depreciation, exceeds 8%; this penalty will be equal to the amount over 8%. Additionally, if a Chief Executive Officer's (CEO) annual compensation is more than 100 times the "minimum facility compensation" – defined as the pay for a full-time employee earning minimum wage or the lowest-paid full-time employee – the hospital will be fined the amount exceeding that limit. Hospitals accepting Commonwealth funds will also be required to report all their financial assets, including those held internationally, to the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA), which will then make this information public within seven days. Any penalties collected will go into a new "Medicaid Reimbursement Enhancement Fund" to improve Medicaid payments to eligible hospitals. The bill also clarifies that it will not affect existing contracts as of July 1, 2015, and mandates that the Health Policy Commission create regulations for its implementation, with the entire act taking effect on July 1, 2015.