Amendment #1278 to H4200

To mitigate adverse effects of the Assessment

Mr. Walsh of Framingham moves to amend the bill in by adding the following new section after section 18:

SECTION 18A:  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of the executive office of health and human services shall provide annual grants, in such amounts as are determined below, to eligible centers to mitigate the impact on such centers resulting from the increase in the total acute hospital assessment amount provided for by SECTION 17 of this Act and until SECTION 18 of this Act shall become effective.  Eligible centers for purposes of this SECTION are comprehensive cancer centers, as defined in  section 1 of chapter 6D of the General Laws, that, as a result of implementation of said SECTION 17, experience a negative health safety net impact of greater than $7.5 million.  For purposes of this SECTION a negative health safety net impact means the additional amount each year by which such center’s liability to the health safety net trust fund under section 65 of chapter 118E over such center’s reimbursement from the health safety net trust fund under section 69 of chapter 118E increased as a result of implementation of said SECTION 17.  Each annual grant provided by the secretary shall be in an amount of no less than 60% of the negative health safety net impact and shall be provided to each such center to support the costs of its specialized services not otherwise paid by the Medicaid office, for its community benefits, and for purposes of its developing care management models for its patients that support the commonwealth’s policies of promoting alternative payment methodologies.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, and except to the extent not prohibited by federal law, the secretary is directed to fund such annual grants from such sources as the secretary shall determine, including but not limited to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund and the Distressed Hospital Trust Fund, but not from the MassHealth Delivery System Reform Trust