Hospital Assessment 5
SECTION 55.
Said chapter 118E is hereby further amended by striking out section 67, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 67. (a) An acute hospital's liability to the fund shall equal the product of: (i) the ratio of its assessed charges to all acute hospitals' assessed charges; and (ii) the total acute hospital assessment amount. Annually, before October 1, the office shall establish each acute hospital's liability to the fund using the best data available as determined by the health safety net office and shall update each acute hospital's liability to the fund as updated information becomes available. The office shall specify by regulation an appropriate mechanism for interim determination and payment of an acute hospital's liability to the fund. An acute hospital's liability to the fund shall, in the case of a transfer of ownership, be assumed by the successor in interest to the acute hospital.
(b) There shall be imposed in each fiscal year a uniform assessment upon the assessed charges of all: (i) nonpublic hospitals licensed by the department of public health under section 51 of chapter 111 but not defined as acute care hospitals under section 25B of said chapter 111; and (ii) nonpublic hospitals licensed as inpatient facilities by the department of mental health under section 19 of chapter 19 and regulations promulgated thereunder but not categorized as class VII licensees under the regulations; provided, however, that such uniform assessment shall be set as a percentage of the assessed charges of each such hospital and, for each fiscal year, the percentage shall be equal to the ratio of: (1) the total acute hospital assessment amount as defined in section 64 for the same fiscal year; to (2) the total assessed charges as defined in said section 64 of acute care hospitals in the same fiscal year and as the amount of those charges is determined by the health safety net office under this section . A non-acute hospital's liability to the fund shall, in the case of a transfer of ownership, be assumed by the successor in interest to the non-acute hospital.
(c) The office shall establish by regulation an appropriate mechanism for enforcing each hospital's liability to the fund in the event that a hospital does not make a scheduled payment to the fund.