Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

LAW WITHOUT
                                                                   GOVERNOR'S                CHAPTER
                                                                   SIGNATURE
                                                                                                  746
                                                                    MAY 8, 2022             PUBLIC LAW
                                   STATE OF MAINE
                                           _____
                           IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
                        TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO
                                           _____
                                    S.P. 158 - L.D. 372
         An Act To Establish the Hospital System Loan Fund Program
   Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
    Whereas, this legislation needs to take effect before the expiration of the 90-day
period in order to provide financial assistance to hospitals as soon as possible so that they
may continue to provide vital services to the residents of this State; and
    Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now,
therefore,
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
    Sec. 1. Hospital System Loan Fund Program. Notwithstanding any provision
of law to the contrary, the Hospital System Loan Fund Program, referred to in this section
as "the program," is established within the Finance Authority of Maine, referred to in this
section as "the authority," for the purpose of alleviating hardship on hospitals as a result of
loan payments due as a result of the Medicare accelerated payment program in 42 United
States Code, Section 1395g(f)(2)(C). For an applicant to participate in the program, the
applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the authority that the applicant faces a
repayment to the Medicare program in 2022 pursuant to the Medicare accelerated payment
program of more than $12 million and less than $18 million as of June 1, 2022; faces
repayment obligations that would otherwise constitute a hardship to the hospital pursuant
to 42 United States Code, Section 1395ddd(f)(l); and has less than 60 days' cash on hand
as of May 1, 2022.
    1. Hospital System Loan Fund. The Hospital System Loan Fund, referred to in this
section as "the fund," is created as a nonlapsing, interest-earning, revolving fund to carry
out the purposes of this section.
    A. The authority may receive, invest and expend on behalf of the fund money from
    gifts, grants, bequests, loans and donations in addition to money appropriated or
    allocated by the State. Money received by the authority on behalf of the fund must be
                                    Page 1 - 130LR0876(10)
    used for the purposes of this section. The fund must be maintained and administered
    by the authority.
    B. Applications to participate in the program must be made available by the authority
    no later than June 1, 2022 and decisions must be made no later than July 1, 2022 and
    any loans must be issued by the authority by August 1, 2022.
    C. The total amount of funding to be distributed by the authority from the fund may
    not exceed $12 million. Multiple loan applications must result in a proration of funds.
    D. The repayment term for a borrower is 24 months and the interest rate is zero. The
    loan must be repaid by a borrower in equal monthly installments beginning one month
    after receipt of funds. There is no penalty for early repayments. Any amounts
    remaining unpaid after 24 months must be recovered as a reduction to the first
    supplemental pool payment to the loan recipient made pursuant to rule Chapter 101:
    MaineCare Benefits Manual, Chapter III, Section 45.04 following the end of the 24-
    month repayment period.
    E. A borrower receiving a loan shall participate in the Medicaid program during the
    term of the loan. Any unpaid amount of the loan must be repayable by the borrower
    within 30 days of the borrower's no longer being a Medicaid provider. The authority
    shall notify the Department of Health and Human Services of the loan recipients. The
    department shall notify the authority if during the term of the loan a borrower receiving
    the loan no longer participates in the Medicaid program.
    F. Beginning August 1, 2024 and quarterly thereafter, the authority shall transfer the
    repaid principal balance to the Reserve for FAME Hospital - Hospital System Loans
    General Fund account established in section 2.
    G. Costs and expenses incurred by the authority, including but not limited to
    maintaining, servicing and administering the fund, may be paid out of the fund.
    2. Administration; rules. The program and the fund are administered by the
authority. The authority may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this section. Rules
adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules pursuant to the Maine
Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
    3. Report. The authority shall report to the State Controller on loan disbursements
and loan repayments annually, beginning on July 1, 2023, and upon the transfer of funds.
    Sec. 2. Reserve for FAME Hospital - Hospital System Loans account
established. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the State Controller
shall establish the Reserve for FAME Hospital - Hospital System Loans General Fund
account.
    Sec. 3. Transfer from MaineCare Stabilization Fund. Notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary, at the close of fiscal year 2021-22, the State Controller
shall transfer $12 million from the available balance in the MaineCare Stabilization Fund
Other Special Revenue Funds account within the Department of Health and Human
Services to the General Fund unappropriated surplus.
   Sec. 4. Transfer from General Fund unappropriated surplus; FAME
Hospital - Hospital System Loan Fund account. Notwithstanding any provision of
law to the contrary, at the close of fiscal year 2021-22, the State Controller shall transfer
                                   Page 2 - 130LR0876(10)
$12 million from the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund to the Finance Authority
of Maine's FAME Hospital - Hospital System Loan Fund Other Special Revenue Funds
account.
   Sec. 5. Transfer from Reserve for FAME Hospital - Hospital System Loans
account; MaineCare Stabilization Fund. Notwithstanding any provision of law to
the contrary, at the close of fiscal year 2024-25, the State Controller shall transfer the
balance in the Reserve for FAME Hospital - Hospital System Loans General Fund account
to the MaineCare Stabilization Fund Other Special Revenue Funds account within the
Department of Health and Human Services.
    Sec. 6. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
allocations are made.
FINANCE AUTHORITY OF MAINE
Hospital - Hospital System Loans Fund N962
Initiative: Provides one-time allocation for the Hospital - Hospital System Loans Fund
program.
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS                                    2021-22           2022-23
 All Other                                                          $0       $12,000,000
                                                            __________       __________
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL                                   $0       $12,000,000
    Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation
takes effect when approved.
                                  Page 3 - 130LR0876(10)
Statutes affected: 
Bill Text LD 372, SP 158: 22.3174