Senate Bill 2226

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-13-131, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ANY HOSPITAL THAT ADVERTISES EMERGENCY ROOM WAIT TIMES SHALL BE SUBJECT TO A REDUCTION OF MISSISSIPPI HOSPITAL ACCESS PROGRAM (MHAP) PAYMENTS UNDER THE MEDICAID PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 43-13-131, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

43-13-131. (1) Any person who shall, through intentional misrepresentation, fraud, deceit or unlawful design, either acting individually or in concert with others, influence any recipient to elect any particular provider of services, or any particular type of services, for the purposes and with the intent to obtain or increase any benefit or payment under this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment not exceeding one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. This section shall not prohibit prosecution under any other criminal statutes of this state or the United States.

(2) Any hospital that advertises emergency room wait times shall be subject to a reduction of twenty percent (20%) of Mississippi Hospital Access Program (MHAP) payments established in Section 43-13-117, Mississippi Code of 1972. Any reduction applied under this subsection (2) shall be redistributed to other hospitals in a manner to be determined by the division. For the purposes of this subsection (2):

(a) "Hospital" shall be defined as any institution, place, building, or agency, public or private, whether for profit or not, with facilities for the diagnosis, treatment, or care of persons who are suffering from illness, injury, infirmity, or deformity or other physical condition for which obstetrical, medical, or surgical services would be available and appropriate and which operates or is affiliated with facilities for the overnight care, observation, or recovery of those persons. The term "hospital" does not include the following:

(i) Physicians' offices or clinics where patients are not regularly kept as bed patients for twenty-four (24) hours or more.

(ii) Nursing homes as defined by and regulated under the provisions of Sections 43-11-1 through 43-11-27, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(iii) Persons, schools, institutions or organizations engaged in the care and treatment of individuals with an intellectual disability or mental illness and which are required to be licensed by the provisions of Section 41-17-1 et seq., 41-19-1 et seq. and 41-19-33, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(iv) Hospitalization or care facilities maintained by the state at any of its penal and correctional institutions provided that nothing herein contained shall prevent a penal or correctional institution from applying for licensure of its hospitalization or care facility.

(v) Hospitalization or care facilities maintained by the federal government or agencies thereof.

(vi) Hospitalization or care facilities maintained by any university or college provided that nothing herein contained shall prevent any college or university from applying for licensure of its hospitalization or care facility.

(vii) Any other entity licensed for the diagnosis, treatment, or care of persons admitted for overnight stay.

(b) "Advertising" shall be defined as any sign, display, light, device, figure, painting, message, plaque, poster, billboard, or other thing that is designed, intended, or used to advertise or inform.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.