Existing law authorizes the Division of Health Care Financing and Policy of the Department of Health and Human Services to impose, in certain circumstances, an assessment on agencies to provide personal care services in the home or medical facilities that are required to obtain a certain type of license. (NRS 422.3794) Existing law requires the Division to expend the revenue generated from the assessment to: (1) provide supplemental payments and enhanced rates of reimbursement to operators of agencies to provide personal care services in the home and operators of medical facilities for services rendered to recipients of Medicaid; (2) fund certain additional supports and services under Medicaid; and (3) pay administrative costs. (NRS 422.37945) Sections 2-9 of this bill require the imposition of a similar assessment on private emergency medical transport providers. Section 6 requires: (1) the percentage of the assessment to be based on a percentage of net revenue earned by the private emergency medical transport service from providing services in this State; and (2) the Division to set the amount of the percentage of the assessment by regulation, subject to certain requirements. Section 7 creates the Account to Improve Emergency Medical Transportation Quality and Access. Section 7 requires the Division to administer the Account and to deposit the proceeds collected from the assessment into the Account. Section 7 provides that money in the Account may only be expended to: (1) provide enhanced rates of reimbursement under Medicaid to private emergency medical transport providers for providing emergency ambulance services to recipients of Medicaid; (2) fund certain data infrastructure improvements and educational and community outreach initiatives undertaken by the Department; and (3) pay administrative costs related to the assessment. If the Legislature authorizes the money in the Account to be used for any other purpose, section 7: (1) requires that the Division cease imposing the assessment; and (2) provides that the regulations adopted to impose the assessment are void. Section 8 requires the Division to adopt regulations establishing administrative penalties against a private emergency medical transport provider that fails to pay an assessment in a timely manner. Section 8 authorizes the Division, after notifying the provider, to: (1) deduct the amount of an unpaid assessment or administrative penalty from future payments owed to the private emergency transport provider under Medicaid; and (2) negotiate a payment plan with a delinquent private emergency medical transport provider before making such deductions. Section 8 also requires the Division to notify the health authority that issued a private emergency medical transport provider a permit to own or operate an ambulance or air ambulance in this State if the provider has failed to pay an assessment or administrative penalty in a timely manner. Section 11 of this bill authorizes the applicable health authority to, after receiving such a notification from the Division, take certain disciplinary actions against the private emergency medical transport provider. Section 9 authorizes the Division to modify the amount of the assessment, the enhanced rates of reimbursement or any other requirement established by sections 2-9 as necessary to receive federal financial participation to carry out the provisions of sections 2-9. Section 9 also requires the suspension of the assessment and the payment of enhanced rates of reimbursement upon the occurrence of certain events. Section 9 requires the retroactive reimposition of such assessments and payments when the event triggering the suspension is no longer applicable. Sections 3, 4 and 5 define certain terms and section 2 establishes the applicability of those definitions. Section 10 of this bill requires the Director of the Department to administer the provisions of sections 2-9 in the same manner as other provisions relating to Medicaid.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 232.320, 450B.215
BDR: 232.320, 450B.215