ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 719
(By Senators Helmick, Sharpe, Chafin, Plymale, Prezioso, Edgell, Love,
Bailey, Bowman, McCabe, Unger, Dempsey, Boley, Minear, Guills and Sprouse)
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[Passed March 13, 2004; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact §11-27-11 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a
new section, designated §11-27-37, relating to increasing the
health care provider tax imposed on gross receipts of
providers of nursing facility services and establishing a
contingent provider tax increase if certain conditions occur;
specifying condition precedent to tax increase; study panel;
and setting forth effective date.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-27-11 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and to further amend said code by adding
thereto a new section, designated §11-27-37, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 27. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER TAXES.
§11-27-11. Imposition of tax on providers of nursing facility
services, other than services of intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded.
(a)
Imposition of tax. -- For the privilege of engaging or
continuing within this state in the business of providing nursing
facility services, other than those services of intermediate care
facilities for the mentally retarded, there is hereby levied and
shall be collected from every person rendering such service an
annual broad-based health care-related tax:
Provided, That
hospitals which provide nursing facility services may adjust
nursing facility rates to the extent necessary to compensate for
the tax without first obtaining approval from the health care
authority:
Provided, however, That the rate adjustment is limited
to a single adjustment during the initial year of the imposition of
the tax which adjustment shall be exempt from prospective review by
the health care authority and further which is limited to an amount
not to exceed the amount of the tax which is levied against the
hospital for the provision of nursing facility services pursuant to
this section. The health care authority shall retroactively review
the rate increases implemented by the hospitals under this section
during the regular rate review process. A hospital which fails to
meet the criteria established by this section for a rate increase
exempt from prospective review shall be subject to the penalties
imposed under article twenty-nine-b, chapter sixteen of the code.
(b)
Rate and measure of tax. -- The tax imposed in subsection
(a) of this section shall be five and one-half percent of the gross receipts derived by the taxpayer from furnishing nursing facility
services in this state, other than services of intermediate care
facilities for the mentally retarded. This rate shall be increased
to five and ninety-five one hundredths percent of the gross
receipts received or receivable by providers of nursing facility
services after the thirtieth day of June, two thousand four.
(c)
Definitions. --
(1) "Gross receipts" means the amount received or receivable,
whether in cash or in kind, from patients, third-party payors and
others for nursing facility services furnished by the provider,
including retroactive adjustments under reimbursement agreements
with third-party payors, without any deduction for any expenses of
any kind:
Provided, That accrual basis providers shall be allowed
to reduce gross receipts by their bad debts, to the extent the
amount of such bad debts was previously included in gross receipts
upon which the tax imposed by this section was paid.
(2) "Nursing facility services" means those services that are
nursing facility services for purposes of Section 1903(w) of the
Social Security Act.
(d)
Effective date. -- The tax imposed by this section shall
apply to gross receipts received or receivable by providers after
the thirty-first day of May, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-three.
§11-27-37. Contingent increase in rates of certain health care provider taxes.
(a)
Increase in rates of certain provider taxes. --
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary:
(1) The rate of the tax imposed by section four of this
article on providers of ambulatory surgical centers shall be two
and thirty-six hundredths percent of the gross receipts received or
receivable by providers on and after the first day of the calendar
month as provided in subsection (b) of this section;
(2) The rate of the tax imposed by section nine of this
article on providers of inpatient hospital services shall be three
and thirty-eight hundredths percent of the gross receipts received
or receivable by providers on and after the first day of the
calendar month as provided in subsection (b) of this section;
(3) The rate of tax imposed by section ten of this article on
providers of intermediate care facility services shall be five and
ninety-five hundredths percent of the gross receipts received or
receivable by providers on and after the first day of the calendar
month as provided in subsection (b) of this section; and
(4) The rate of the tax imposed by section fifteen of this
article on providers of outpatient hospital services shall be three
and thirty-eight hundredths percent of the gross receipts received
or receivable by providers on and after the first day of the
calendar month as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b)
Effective date. -- This section shall take effect as provided in article six, section thirty of the constitution of this
state:
Provided, That this section does not apply to any taxpayer
unless and until all of the following have occurred: (1) The
governor makes a determination that both estimated general revenue
fund collections and the funds available to fund this state's
medicaid program as set forth in the annual budget bill enacted by
the Legislature will both be less in the next fiscal year than
those funds are estimated to be in the current fiscal year, with
this decrease being a result of changes, or anticipated changes, in
the medicaid program at the federal level or a result of federal
administrative actions with respect to this state's medicaid
program; (2) the governor notifies the president of the Senate and
the speaker of the House of Delegates of this determination; (3)
the governor issues an executive order convening a panel to study
and examine possible alternative means of addressing and resolving
the anticipated medicaid program budget shortfall, which panel
shall include, but may not be limited to, one or more
representatives of each group of providers upon which the provider
tax increases contemplated by this section may be imposed; (4) this
panel is afforded not less than seventy-five days in which to
conduct its study and provide a report and recommendations to the
governor, the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House
of Delegates; and (5) the Legislature adopts a resolution
authorizing imposition of the rate increases described in this section. If, and only if, no other solution than the tax increase
set forth herein is implemented by either administrative or
legislative action in response to the report and recommendations of
the study panel to the anticipated medicaid budget shortfall, and
upon adoption of a resolution of the Legislature, the provisions of
this section shall become effective on the date specified by the
Legislature in the resolution.