Amendment_Report_for

House Amendments to Senate Bill No. 2567

TO THE SECRETARY OF THE SENATE:

THIS IS TO INFORM YOU THAT THE HOUSE HAS ADOPTED THE AMENDMENTS SET OUT BELOW:

AMENDMENT NO. 1

Amend by striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

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

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

(3) For the purposes of this section, 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.

(4) (a) To align with other similar payments and address access to care needs, the Division of Medicaid shall, if the requirements of paragraph (b) of this subsection (4) have been met, 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 Section 438.6(c) or another Medicaid statute or regulation 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.

(b) No payments shall be made under paragraph (a) of this subsection (4) until after the Division of Medicaid has received the amount of the non-federal share of such payments from a public entity capable of furnishing an intergovernmental transfer, including, but not limited to, a state institution of higher learning, public community college, local government, or instrumentality of local government, provided that any funds received by a public entity from the border city university-affiliated pediatric teaching hospital must be bona fide donations as provided in 42 CFR Section 433.54.

(5) 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.

(6) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2027.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.

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) OR ANOTHER MEDICAID STATUTE OR REGULATION 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 NO PAYMENTS SHALL BE MADE UNDER THIS ACT UNTIL AFTER THE DIVISION OF MEDICAID HAS RECEIVED THE AMOUNT OF THE NON-FEDERAL SHARE OF SUCH PAYMENTS FROM A PUBLIC ENTITY CAPABLE OF FURNISHING AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFER; 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.