Amendment #158 to H4617

Protections for Community Hospitals

Representatives Moran of Lawrence, Decker of Cambridge, Golden of Lowell, Cahill of Lynn, Matias of Lawrence, Vargas of Haverhill, Livingstone of Boston, Ultrino of Malden, Hecht of Watertown, DiZoglio of Methuen, Finn of West Springfield, Connolly of Cambridge, Provost of Somerville, Vega of Holyoke, Murray of Milford, DuBois of Brockton, González of Springfield, Koczera of New Bedford, Tosado of Springfield, Jones of North Reading, Puppolo of Springfield, Hay of Fitchburg, Ashe of Longmeadow, Campbell of Methuen, Scibak of South Hadley, Tyler of Boston, Arciero of Westford, Rogers of Cambridge, Whipps of Athol, Barber of Somerville, Cassidy of Brockton, Zlotnik of Gardner, Gentile of Sudbury, Williams of Springfield and Garry of Dracut move to amend the bill in Sections 78, 80, 83, and 87, in lines 1775, 1856, 1933, and 2062 after the word “research” by inserting at the end thereof the following:-

“and unwarranted factors such as lack of market power which result in chronic acute hospital underpayment compared to the carrier's statewide average relative price.”

And further amends the bill in Section 103, in line 2503, by adding at the end thereof the following:-

"(n) Surcharge payers shall not factor into or diminish negotiated rates of payment or rate increases to acute hospitals eligible for the Community Hospital Reinvestment Trust Fund to pay for the assessment pursuant to this section."