Senate Bill 2567

AN ACT TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI PEDIATRIC ACCESS TO CRITICAL HEALTH CARE PROTECTION ACT; TO REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF MEDICAID TO MAKE PAYMENTS TO A BORDER CITY UNIVERSITY-AFFILIATED PEDIATRIC TEACHING HOSPITAL IF THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES (CMS) APPROVE AN INCREASE IN THE ANNUAL REQUEST FOR THE PROVIDER PAYMENT INITIATIVE AUTHORIZED UNDER 42 CFR § 438.6(C) IN AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE ESTIMATED ANNUAL PAYMENT TO BE MADE TO THE BORDER CITY UNIVERSITY-AFFILIATED PEDIATRIC TEACHING HOSPITAL; TO PROVIDE THAT THE INTENT OF THE LEGISLATURE IS THAT THE COST OF PROVIDING SERVICES TO MISSISSIPPI MEDICAID BENEFICIARIES UNDER THE AGE OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS WHO ARE TREATED BY A BORDER CITY UNIVERSITY-AFFILIATED PEDIATRIC TEACHING HOSPITAL SHALL NOT EXCEED THE COST OF PROVIDING THE SAME SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS IN HOSPITALS IN THE STATE, AND THAT SUCH PAYMENTS SHALL NOT RESULT IN ANY IN-STATE HOSPITAL RECEIVING PAYMENTS LOWER THAN THEY WOULD OTHERWISE RECEIVE IF NOT FOR THE PAYMENTS MADE TO ANY BORDER CITY UNIVERSITY-AFFILIATED PEDIATRIC TEACHING HOSPITAL; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Pediatric Access to Critical Health Care Protection Act."

SECTION 2. The purpose of this act is to promote quality health care and to ensure Mississippi children have access to pediatric inpatient hospital care.

SECTION 3. (1) To align with other similar payments and address access to care needs, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, in the Office of the Governor, shall make payments to a border city university-affiliated pediatric teaching hospital if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approve an increase in the annual request for the provider payment initiative authorized under 42 CFR § 438.6(c) in an amount equal to or greater than the estimated annual payment to be made to the border city university affiliated pediatric teaching hospital. The estimate shall be based on the hospital's prior year Mississippi managed care utilization.

(2) For the purposes of this act, the term "border city university-affiliated pediatric teaching hospital" means an out-of-state hospital located within a city bordering the eastern bank of the Mississippi River and the State of Mississippi that submits to the division a copy of a current and effective affiliation agreement with an accredited university and other documentation establishing that the hospital is university-affiliated, is licensed and designated as a pediatric hospital or pediatric primary hospital within its home state, maintains at least five (5) different pediatric specialty training programs and maintains at least one hundred (100) operated beds dedicated exclusively for the treatment of patients under the age of twenty-one (21) years.

SECTION 4. It is the intent of the Legislature that the cost of providing services to Mississippi Medicaid beneficiaries under the age of twenty-one (21) years who are treated by a border city university-affiliated pediatric teaching hospital shall not exceed the cost of providing the same services to individuals in hospitals in the state. Further, it is the intent of the Legislature that payments shall not result in any in-state

hospital receiving payments lower than they would otherwise receive if not for the payments made to any border city university-affiliated pediatric teaching hospital.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.