HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1268        FILED ON: 1/16/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1086

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Elizabeth A. Poirier

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act stabilizing nonprofit independent DSH community hospitals via competitive commercial insurance rates for their affiliated physicians.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Elizabeth A. Poirier

14th Bristol

1/16/2019

F. Jay Barrows

1st Bristol

2/1/2019

James K. Hawkins

2nd Bristol

2/1/2019

Shawn Dooley

9th Norfolk

1/16/2019

Steven S. Howitt

4th Bristol

1/16/2019


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1268        FILED ON: 1/16/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1086

By Mrs. Poirier of North Attleborough, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1086) of Elizabeth A. Poirier and others relative commercial insurance rates for physicians affiliated with independent community disproportional share hospitals.  Financial Services.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

 

An Act stabilizing nonprofit independent DSH community hospitals via competitive commercial insurance rates for their affiliated physicians.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1 -  Notwithstanding any general or special law or regulation to the contrary, (a) in no event shall the physician group relative price for commercial insurance rates for those physicians affiliated with an independent community disproportional share hospital meeting the criteria set forth below (hereinafter a “qualifying community hospital”) be less than 1.0 as measured by the center for health information and analysis relative price data book entitled price variation in the Massachusetts commercial market.  For the purposes of this section, a qualifying community hospital shall: (i) have no corporate or contracting affiliation with a provider system that includes an academic medical center or teaching hospital as evidenced by being listed by the health policy commission in its 2018 publication entitled Massachusetts hospital cohort designation and affiliation status; (ii) contract directly with commercial payers, (iii) operate as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization; and (iv) qualify as a community-high public payer hospital in the 2018 Center for Health Information and Analysis hospital profiles publication.