Texas Health & Safety Code - Section 311.046. Annual Report Of Community Benefits Plan
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§ 311.046. ANNUAL REPORT OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS PLAN. (a)
A nonprofit hospital shall prepare an annual report of the
community benefits plan and shall include in the report at least the
following information:
(1) the hospital's mission statement;
(2) a disclosure of the health care needs of the
community that were considered in developing the hospital's
community benefits plan pursuant to Section 311.044(b);
(3) a disclosure of the amount and types of community
benefits, including charity care, actually provided. Charity care
shall be reported as a separate item from other community benefits;
(4) a statement of its total operating expenses
computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles for hospitals from the most recent completed and audited
prior fiscal year of the hospital; and
(5) a completed worksheet that computes the ratio of
cost to charge for the fiscal year referred to in Subdivision (4)
and that includes the same requirements as Worksheet 1-A adopted by
the department in August 1994 for the 1994 "Annual Statement of
Community Benefits Standards".
(b) A nonprofit hospital shall file the annual report of the
community benefits plan with the Bureau of State Health Data and
Policy Analysis at the department. The report shall be filed no
later than April 30 of each year. In addition to the annual report,
a completed worksheet as required by Subsection (a)(5) shall be
filed no later than 10 working days after the date the hospital
files its Medicare cost report.
(c) A nonprofit hospital shall prepare a statement that
notifies the public that the annual report of the community
benefits plan is public information; that it is filed with the
department; and that it is available to the public on request from
the department. The statement shall be posted in prominent places
throughout the hospital, including but not limited to the emergency
room waiting area and the admissions office waiting area. The
statement shall also be printed in the hospital patient guide or
other material that provides the patient with information about the
admissions criteria of the hospital.
(d) Each hospital shall provide, to each person who seeks
any health care service at the hospital, notice, in appropriate
languages, if possible, about the charity care program, including
the charity care and eligibility policies of the program, and how to
apply for charity care. Such notice shall also be conspicuously
posted in the general waiting area, in the waiting area for
emergency services, in the business office, and in such other
locations as the hospital deems likely to give notice of the charity
care program and policies. Each hospital shall annually publish
notice of the hospital's charity care program and policies in a
local newspaper of general circulation in the county. Each notice
under this subsection must be written in language readily
understandable to the average reader.
(e) For purposes of this section, "nonprofit hospital"
includes the following if the hospital is not located in a county
with a population under 50,000 where the entire county or the
population of the entire county has been designated as a Health
Professionals Shortage Area:
(1) a Medicaid disproportionate share hospital; or
(2) a public hospital that is owned or operated by a
political subdivision or municipal corporation of the state,
including a hospital district or authority.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 360, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 260, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 1998;
Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 654, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Section: 311.041 311.042 311.043 311.044 311.045 311.0455 311.0456 311.046 311.0461 311.047 311.048 312.001 312.002 312.003 312.004
Last modified: August 11, 2007
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