HBA-MPM H.B. 2998 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2998
By: Janek
Public Health
3/24/1999
Introduced


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, hospital outpatient facilities (facilities) not located in the
same building as the hospital are excluded from licensure under the
hospital's license.  Current law requires a facility and the hospital to
operate under the same license in order to receive Medicare reimbursement.
H.B. 2998 permits facilities, including senior health centers, to be
included in a hospital's license, thereby making them eligible for
reimbursement by Medicare. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 241.023, Health and Safety Code, as follows:

Sec. 241.023.  ISSUANCE OF LICENSE.  (a)  Makes no change.

(b)  Makes no change.

(c)  Makes no change.

(d)  Requires a license issued under this section to include each
outpatient facility (facility) located apart from the hospital and for
which the hospital has submitted to the department, subject to the
provisions of Subsection (e), the following: 

_a copy of a fire safety survey dated no earlier than one year prior to the
submission date indicating approval by the local fire authority in whose
jurisdiction the facility is located, provided that a facility located
outside the jurisdiction of a local fire authority is required to provide a
copy of the survey indicating approval from the nearest fire authority; or 
_if the hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of
Healthcare Organizations or the American Osteopathic Association, a copy of
documentation from the accrediting body showing that the facility is
included within the hospital's accreditation. 

(e) Makes Subsection (d) applicable only if the United States Department of
Health and Human Services, Health Care Financing Administration, Office of
Inspector General, adopts interim or final rules requiring state licensure
of facilities as a condition of a designation as a Medicare provider-based
entity. 

(f)  Redesignated from existing Subsection (d).

(g)  Redesignated from existing Subsection (e).

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.