SENATE BILL 268

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

Pete Campos

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE; CREATING THE HEALTH FACILITY VIABILITY FUND; PROVIDING FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS TO HEALTH FACILITIES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 24 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] HEALTH FACILITY VIABILITY FUND--FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.--

          A. The "health facility viability fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury. The fund consists of appropriations, gifts, grants, donations, income from investment of the fund and other revenue credited to the fund. The health care authority department shall administer the fund, and expenditures from the fund shall be by warrant of the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the secretary of health care authority or the secretary's authorized representative.

          B. Money in the fund is appropriated to the health care authority department to provide financial assistance grants to eligible health facilities that agree to continue, reestablish or expand their services in medically underserved areas of the state. A single grant may not exceed seven million dollars ($7,000,000), and a single grant period may not extend beyond twelve months. Grants may be used to subsidize a facility's costs associated with:

                (1) general operation;

                (2) operational debt;

                (3) medical malpractice and other insurance;

                (4) surcharges required pursuant to the Medical Malpractice Act;

                (5) assessments levied by the state to secure medicaid matching funds, to the extent permitted by federal law; and

                (6) other needs and expenses approved by the department.

          C. The health care authority department shall promulgate rules for the form and manner of a grant application, criteria for reviewing an application, terms of a grant agreement, reporting and auditing procedures to ensure public accountability and other rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

          D. A health facility is eligible to apply for a

 grant if it:

                (1) is a licensed public or private general or special hospital, outpatient clinic, crisis triage center or freestanding birth center;

                (2) is an enrolled medicaid provider actively serving medicaid recipients; and

                (3) is located and operates in a medically underserved area of the state.

          E. An eligible facility shall submit a solvency plan that includes specific cost containment measures and adequate documentation that demonstrates that the facility is at risk of closure or at risk of a significant reduction of services with the application.

          F. The health care authority department shall prioritize the applications of facilities that demonstrate the greatest need and that are located in the most medically underserved areas of the state. Upon the receipt of a grant application, the department shall:

                (1) conduct a financial assessment of the facility and review verifiable records and data regarding the facility's revenue, costs and losses to determine financial need;

                (2) evaluate the facility's workforce and service capacities; and

                (3) evaluate health needs in the facility's service area and the facility's public health impact on that area."

     SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION.--Seventy million dollars ($70,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the health facility viability fund for expenditure in fiscal year 2025 and subsequent fiscal years to provide for financial assistance grants to eligible health facilities to sustain, recover and expand services. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund.

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