0001| SENATE BILL 231
|
0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
|
0003| INTRODUCED BY
|
0004| ROD ADAIR
|
0005|
|
0006|
|
0007|
|
0008|
|
0009|
|
0010| AN ACT
|
0011| RELATING TO INDIGENT HEALTH CARE; AMENDING SECTION 27-5-4 NMSA
|
0012| 1978 (BEING LAWS 1965, CHAPTER 234, SECTION 4, AS AMENDED) TO
|
0013| AUTHORIZE PAYMENT FOR MEDICAL SERVICES PROVIDED IN THE
|
0014| EMERGENCY ROOM OF A HOSPITAL TO AN INDIGENT PERSON BY
|
0015| PHYSICIANS WHO ARE ON-CALL AND NOT OTHERWISE COMPENSATED FOR
|
0016| SERVICES RENDERED.
|
0017|
|
0018| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
|
0019| Section 1. Section 27-5-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1965,
|
0020| Chapter 234, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
|
0021| "27-5-4. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Indigent Hospital
|
0022| and County Health Care Act:
|
0023| A. "ambulance provider" or "ambulance service"
|
0024| means a specialized carrier based within the state authorized
|
0025| under provisions and subject to limitations as provided in
|
- 1 -
0001| individual carrier certificates issued by the state
|
0002| corporation commission to transport persons alive, dead or
|
0003| dying en route by means of ambulance service. The rates and
|
0004| charges established by state corporation commission tariff
|
0005| shall govern [as to] allowable cost. Also included are air
|
0006| ambulance services approved by the board. The air ambulance
|
0007| service charges shall be filed and approved pursuant to
|
0008| Subsection D of Section 27-5-6 NMSA 1978 and Section 27-5-11
|
0009| NMSA 1978;
|
0010| B. "board" means a county indigent hospital and
|
0011| county health care board;
|
0012| C. "indigent patient" means a person to whom an
|
0013| ambulance service, a hospital or a health care provider has
|
0014| provided medical care, ambulance transportation or health care
|
0015| services and who can normally support himself and his
|
0016| dependents on present income and liquid assets available to
|
0017| him but, taking into consideration this income and those
|
0018| assets and his requirement for other necessities of life for
|
0019| himself and his dependents, is unable to pay the total cost
|
0020| of the ambulance transportation, [or] medical care
|
0021| [administered or both] or health care services provided.
|
0022| If provided by resolution of a board, it shall not include any
|
0023| person whose annual income together with his spouse's annual
|
0024| income totals an amount that is fifty percent greater than the
|
0025| per capita personal income for New Mexico as shown for the
|
- 2 -
0001| most recent year available in the survey of current business
|
0002| published by the United States department of commerce. Every
|
0003| board that has a balance remaining in the fund at the end of a
|
0004| given fiscal year shall consider and may adopt at the first
|
0005| meeting of the succeeding fiscal year a resolution increasing
|
0006| the standard for indigency. The term "indigent patient"
|
0007| includes a minor who has received ambulance transportation,
|
0008| [or] medical care or [both] health care services and
|
0009| whose parent or the person having custody of that minor would
|
0010| qualify as an indigent patient if [transported by ambulance
|
or admitted to a hospital for care or treated by a health care
|
provider or all three] he received ambulance transportation,
|
0013| medical care or health care service;
|
0014| D. "hospital" means any general or limited
|
0015| hospital licensed by the department of health, whether
|
0016| nonprofit or owned by a political subdivision, and may include
|
0017| by resolution of a board the following health facilities if
|
0018| licensed or, in the case of out-of-state hospitals, approved,
|
0019| by the department of health:
|
0020| (l) for-profit hospitals;
|
0021| (2) state-owned hospitals; or
|
0022| (3) licensed out-of-state hospitals where
|
0023| treatment provided is necessary for the proper care of an
|
0024| indigent patient when that care is not available in an in-
|
0025| state hospital;
|
- 3 -
0001| E. "cost" means all allowable ambulance
|
0002| transportation costs, medical care costs or costs of providing
|
0003| health care services to the extent determined by resolution of
|
0004| a board, for an indigent patient. Allowable costs shall be
|
0005| determined in accordance with a uniform system of accounting
|
0006| and cost analysis as determined by regulation of a board,
|
0007| which includes cost of ancillary services but shall not
|
0008| include the cost of servicing long-term indebtedness of a
|
0009| hospital, health care provider or ambulance service;
|
0010| F. "fund" means a county indigent hospital claims
|
0011| fund;
|
0012| G. "medicaid eligible" means a person who is
|
0013| eligible for medical assistance from the department;
|
0014| H. "county" means any county except a class A
|
0015| county with a county hospital operated and maintained pursuant
|
0016| to a lease with a state educational institution named in
|
0017| Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico;
|
0018| I. "department" means the human services
|
0019| department;
|
0020| J. "sole community provider hospital" means a
|
0021| hospital that is a sole community provider hospital under the
|
0022| provisions of the federal medicare guidelines established in
|
0023| 42 C.F.R. 412.92 pursuant to Title 18 of the federal Social
|
0024| Security Act;
|
0025| K. "drug rehabilitation center" means an agency of
|
- 4 -
0001| local government, a state agency, a private nonprofit entity
|
0002| or combination thereof that operates drug abuse rehabilitation
|
0003| programs that meet the standards and requirements pursuant to
|
0004| the Drug Abuse Act;
|
0005| L. "alcohol rehabilitation center" means an agency
|
0006| of local government, a state agency, a private nonprofit
|
0007| entity or combination thereof that operates alcohol abuse
|
0008| rehabilitation programs that meet the standards set by the
|
0009| department of health pursuant to the Alcoholism and Alcohol
|
0010| Abuse Prevention, Screening and Treatment Act;
|
0011| M. "mental health center" means a not-for-profit
|
0012| center that provides outpatient mental health services that
|
0013| meet the standards set by the department of health pursuant to
|
0014| the Community Mental Health Services Act;
|
0015| N. "health care provider" means:
|
0016| (1) a nursing home;
|
0017| (2) an in-state home health agency;
|
0018| (3) an in-state licensed hospice;
|
0019| (4) a community-based health program operated
|
0020| by a political subdivision of the state or other nonprofit
|
0021| health organization that provides prenatal care delivered by
|
0022| New Mexico licensed, certified or registered health care
|
0023| practitioners;
|
0024| (5) a community-based health program operated
|
0025| by a political subdivision of the state or other nonprofit
|
- 5 -
0001| health care organization that provides primary care delivered
|
0002| by New Mexico licensed, certified or registered health care
|
0003| practitioners;
|
0004| (6) a drug rehabilitation center;
|
0005| (7) an alcohol rehabilitation center; [or]
|
0006| (8) a mental health center; or
|
0007| (9) a physician providing hospital emergency
|
0008| room services to an indigent patient on an on-call basis if
|
0009| the physician is not an employee of the hospital and is not
|
0010| compensated for the provided services by the patient or any
|
0011| other person;
|
0012| O. "health care services" means all treatment and
|
0013| services designed to promote improved health in the county
|
0014| indigent population, including primary care, prenatal care,
|
0015| dental care, provision of prescription drugs, preventive care
|
0016| or health outreach services, to the extent determined by
|
0017| resolution of the board; and
|
0018| P. "planning" means the development of a
|
0019| countywide or multicounty health plan to improve and fund
|
0020| health services in the county based on the county's needs
|
0021| assessment and inventory of existing services and resources
|
0022| and which demonstrates coordination between the county and
|
0023| state and local health planning efforts."
|
0024| Section 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
|
0025| provisions of this act is July 1, 1998.
|
- 6 -