House Bill 124

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI HOSPITAL EMERGENCY GRANT PROGRAM FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FUNDS TO HOSPITALS THAT ARE HAVING FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES TO ASSIST THE HOSPITALS IN PROVIDING NEEDED DIRECT HEALTH CARE SERVICES; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROGRAM WILL BE ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; TO PROVIDE THE ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR A HOSPITAL SEEKING A GRANT UNDER THE PROGRAM; TO CREATE A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY TO BE KNOWN AS THE HOSPITAL EMERGENCY GRANT FUND; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO SUBMIT AN ANNUAL REPORT ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT FUNDS FOR EACH GRANT AWARDED UNDER THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. As used in this act, the following terms shall be defined as provided in this section:

(a) "Department" means the State Department of Health.

(b) "Financial difficulties" means significant economic challenges that have a reasonable potential to affect the range of services offered by a hospital to individuals seeking medical care or treatment and/or the quality of care and treatment provided by a hospital to its patients.

(c) "Hospital" means a public institution that is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of physicians, diagnostic services and therapeutic services for medical diagnosis, treatment and care of injured, disabled or sick persons. The term "hospital" does not include licensed specialty hospitals that are recognized as such by the State Department of Health, psychiatric institutions, convalescent or boarding homes, children's homes, homes for the aged or other like establishments where room and board only are provided, and also does not include offices or clinics where patients are not regularly kept as bed patients.

SECTION 2. (1) There is established the Mississippi Hospital Emergency Grant Program to be administered by the State Department of Health for the purpose of providing funds to hospitals that are having financial difficulties to assist the hospitals in providing needed direct health care services.

(2) The goal of the program is to ensure that hospitals that are having financial difficulties can provide necessary health care services to meet the medical needs of their local populations. The funds made available under the program are intended to offset the financial difficulties that may lead a hospital to offer fewer services, reduce staff, delay necessary upkeep and maintenance of facilities, or any similar action likely to result in a patient not receiving needed medical care or treatment or in a decrease in the quality of medical care or treatment provided to a patient.

(3) The department shall determine the specific terms and conditions of each grant awarded under the program. The department shall develop instructions detailing how a hospital seeking a grant under the program may apply for the grant, the information and materials that must be submitted in the grant application as provided in Section 4 of this act, and the specific criteria for eligibility under the program as provided in Section 3 of this act. The application instructions shall be made available on the department's website.

(4) The amount of each grant shall be determined by the department, with priority for grants of higher amounts being given to hospitals having the most financial difficulties.

(5) The department may expend not more than two percent (2%) of the funds available for the program on the administration of the program.

(6) Funds awarded to a hospital under the program shall be used by the recipient hospital to ensure that patients receive needed direct health care services, including, but not limited to, by maintaining or increasing the current staff responsible for the treatment and care of the hospital's patients or by maintaining or upgrading the hospital's facilities where medical treatment and care are administered.

SECTION 3. To be eligible for a grant under the program, a hospital must:

(a) Be licensed by the department;

(b) Be located within the State of Mississippi;

(d) Demonstrate that the financial difficulties are ongoing and have existed for a period of at least one (1) year before the date of application.

SECTION 4. A hospital seeking a grant under the program must submit an application to the department in the manner provided by the department. The application must include a grant proposal containing:

(a) The basis of the grant request;

(b) Information evidencing the hospital's finances, such as revenue and operating expense data as shown in a current financial audit;

(d) A detailed description of the intended purpose of the grant funds requested, which must include at least one of the purposes specified in Section 2(6) of this act;

(e) A description of any funds available from other sources for the intended purpose; and

(f) Any other information requested by the department.

SECTION 5. There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the Hospital Emergency Grant Fund. The fund shall consist of legislative appropriations, federal funds, contributions, donations, gifts and monies from any other source that are made available for deposit into the fund. Monies in the fund shall be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of providing grants to hospitals under the provisions of this act. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned on amounts in the special fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund.

SECTION 6. (1) The department shall monitor the performance of each hospital that receives a grant under this act, and not later than October 1, 2026, and each October 1 thereafter, the department shall submit a report that includes:

(a) The name and location of each grant recipient;

(b) The criteria used by the department to select each grant recipient;

(d) How each grant recipient has spent the funds awarded; and

(e) If a grant recipient has not fully expended the funds received by the time the annual report is submitted, how the grant recipient plans to spend the remaining funds.

(2) The department shall submit the annual report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chair of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, and the Chair of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee.

SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.