HB 17-1236

HB 17-1236 is a Colorado bill that requires hospitals across the state to provide detailed financial and operational information to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. This department then compiles an annual report on hospital expenses, including costs related to unpaid care, which helps track how different types of expenditures contribute to overall hospital spending. The report must be submitted to various government committees and is also made available online for public review. Since the bill has been signed into law, it means that hospitals are now required to submit this information annually, and the department will produce these reports starting from the current year.

Official Summary

The department of health care policy and financing (department), in consultation with the hospital provider fee oversight and advisory board, shall prepare an annual report detailing uncompensated hospital costs and the different categories of expenditures made by general hospitals in the state (hospital expenditure report). In compiling the hospital expenditure report on expenses by hospitals in the state, the department shall use publicly available data sources whenever possible. Each general hospital in the state is required to submit certain specified information to the department, including: Hospital cost reports submitted to the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services, including a copy of the final forms and worksheets submitted as part of the hospital cost reports; Annual audited financial statements; except that, if a hospital is part of a consolidated or combined group, the hospital may submit a consolidated or combined financial statement if the group's statement separately identifies the information for each of the group's licensed hospitals; Utilization and staffing information and standard units of measure. The bill directs the department to consult with the hospital provider fee oversight and advisory board on the development of the hospital expenditure report. The department may combine the hospital expenditure report with the advisory board's annual report on the hospital provider fee. The advisory board, using staff and analysis from the department, shall provide estimates for the payment-to-cost ratio and the cost-shift analysis portions of its report based on information provided to the department by hospitals. The hospital expenditure report shall include, but not be limited to: A description of the analysis methods and definitions of report components; Uncompensated care costs; and The percentage that different categories of expenses contribute to overall expenses of hospitals. The department is required to submit each hospital expenditure report to the governor; the joint budget committee; the public health care and human services committee of the house of representatives, or any successor committee; the health and human services committee of the senate, or any successor committee; and the medical services board in the department. The department is also directed to place the hospital expenditure reports on the department's website. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Votes