Legislative Update
May 19, 2003
 

Senate to Vote on CON Bill

The New Hampshire Senate will vote Thursday on the Insurance Committee’s recommendation to kill House Bill 788. HB 788 proposes to abolish the Certificate of Need (CON) Board and transfer the CON review function to the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS). It also eliminates CON review for outpatient services and equipment, so that all remains for CON review are inpatient services. This unfairly discriminates against community hospitals. In addition, NHHA opposes any last minute effort to raise the CON review thresholds while retaining the CON Board. NHHA supports the Senate Insurance Committee’s report to kill HB 788.

Meanwhile, the House takes another look this week at its version of the Senate’s CON bill, SB 163, in the House Finance Committee. NHHA opposes the House version of SB 163. Like HB 788, it abolishes the CON Board, transfers the CON review to DHHS, and eliminates review of outpatient services and equipment. However, the House went further by creating an option for rural hospitals to have outpatient services reviewed for CON, a service that’s excluded from CON review in other areas of the state. Proponents suggest that this rural provision protects smaller hospitals from predatory competition. NHHA opposes this provision along with the entire bill.
 

Medicaid and State Budget

The Senate Finance Committee continues to work on the state budget; work sessions are scheduled throughout this week, and the Senators have set a deadline of May 29th to submit the budget to a Committee vote. The Senate is adjusting House revenue estimates beginning with the elimination of proposed new federal Medicaid funds for Adult Developmental Services and Community Mental Health. This means that the State will have fewer revenues than estimated from federal sources, thereby increasing the pressure to reduce spending or find new revenues. The Department of HHS still estimates that $32 million will be cut from Medicaid hospital payments over the next two years.
 

Hospitals to assume custody of abandoned infants

Effective June 4, 2003, a new law requires a hospital or safe haven (police or fire station) to assume temporary custody of an abandoned infant (no more than 7 days old). Within 24 hours after the hospital assumes care of the child, hospital staff must notify the Dept of Health & Human Services (DHHS) and law enforcement. DHHS will immediately assume care of the child and will be responsible for all medical care and costs incurred by the hospital. The law creates an exception to the crime of endangering the welfare of a child when the parent delivers the child to a hospital or safe haven and does not express intent to return for the child. NHHA will obtain information from DHHS regarding reporting procedures for hospitals to follow.


Loss of Opportunity – Medical and Hospital Liability Insurance Legislation

Work continues on Senate Bill 119 in the House Judiciary Committee. In addition to ensuring that New Hampshire law does not allow for the loss of opportunity for a better outcome, Legislators want to fine tune the bill to ensure that other causes of action are not eliminated such as the Duke University case in which the patient died after a mismatched heart-lung transplant.
 

Property Tax Study Committee Extended for one year.

The Legislature passed House Bill 172 to extend the study committee on the property tax exemption for not-for-profit hospitals. The bill also requires the committee to include a study of the community benefits law. The committee must file its report by November of 2003.