Kim James 
Under the existing law, the tax prices for inpatient and outpatient clinic offerings were lower starting in the monetary year (FY) 2020. PA 19-117 eliminates this planned lower and keeps the existing tax price at FY 2019 fees. However, the tax base is to be adjusted every two years. The taxes are based totally on the sanatorium’s internet revenue three years previous to the beginning of the contemporary biennium. For example, the taxes for FY 2020 and 2021 can be based totally on the health center’s net sales in FY 2017.
Under PA 19-117, if a medical institution concern with the medical institution company, tax merges, consolidates, or in any other case reorganizes. The surviving hospital is chargeable for the entire tax imposed on the merging, consolidating, or reorganizing hospitals. The surviving medical institution should also assume any outstanding tax liabilities from intervals earlier than the merger, consolidation, or reorganization.
If for any fiscal year, the Department of Social Services (DSS) determines that the effective clinic issuer tax charge for inpatient offerings passed the charge allowed beneath federal regulation, the brand new regulation calls for the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) to refund to hospitals the excess tax amassed. Each medical institution’s refund must be in percentage to the quantity of inpatient clinic service net revenue on which it became taxed.
Using July 1, 2020, each health facility’s difficulty to the company tax must be filed yearly to DSS the quantity of hospital provider tax it paid and its net inpatient hospital services revenue for the monetary year years before the reporting date. Within 90 days after receiving completed reviews from all such hospitals, DSS will notify DRS of the refund amount due to each clinic, and DRS will trouble the perfect refunds. Interest will now not be added to the refunds.
PA 19-117 creates a brand new regulation that prohibits non-compete agreements with homemaker, accomplice, or domestic fitness services people. The new law applies to any agreement that restricts the proper of an individual to provide homemaker, partner, or domestic fitness services in any geographic place of the nation for any period of time or to a particular person. Under PA 19-117, such non-compete agreements oppose the public policy void and unenforceable.
Surprise Bills for Laboratory Services
Effective January 1, 2020
Currently, a “marvel bill” is a bill for non-emergency health care services supplied by an out-of-community issuer at an in-network facility at some point of a provider or manner performed using an in-community provider or previously authorized by the health insurer, and the individual receiving the services did now not go with to receive the services from the out-of-community company. Under current regulation, if a person with medical insurance receives a surprise bill, they are obligated to pay the coinsurance, copayment, deductible, or different out-of-pocket fee that would practice if the services had been provided via an in-network issuer. It is a contravention of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act for a provider to request an affected person any quantity for a surprise bill beyond the coinsurance, copayment, deductible, or other out-of-pocket expense. In standard, the health insurer should reimburse the out-of-community provider or the insured, as relevant, for the fitness care services at the in-network charge.
PA 19-117 revises the definition of “marvel invoice” to include non-emergency fitness care offerings rendered with the aid of an out-of-network medical laboratory if an insured is cited it by using an in-community issuer.
Certified Community Health Workers
Effective January 1, 2020
This law creates a community medical expert certification program administrated using DPH. Under PA 19-117, community health workers are public health outreach professionals that act as liaisons between community contributors and fitness care companies and provide offerings together with counseling, social aid, care coordination, and primary screenings of risks connected with social determinants of fitness. Beginning January 1, 2020, the new law calls for everybody who uses the name “licensed network medical examiner” to be licensed through DPH. The new regulation: (1) establishes certification requirements and sets initial certification, and renewal prices, (2) establishes a continuing training requirement, and (3) lets in DPH to take enforcement movements in opposition to certificates holders who fail to conform with ordinary standards.
Newborn Infant Health Screening
Effective October 1, 2019
Under existing law, institutions (including hospitals) worrying for newborn babies must administer to every toddler screenings to test for sure diseases and strange situations. The Department of Public Health (DPH) administers this Newborn Screening Program and publishes a list of all the strange conditions for which the institutions should display screen newborns. PA 19-117 broadens DPH’s newborn screening application to include any disease indexed at the federal Recommended Uniform Screening Panel, situation to the Office of Policy and Management’s approval.
Implementation of Medicaid Value-Based Payments for Hospitals
Effective July 1, 2019
PA 19-117 requires DSS to force one or more value-based fee methodologies for hospitals taking part in the Connecticut Medicaid application. While the regulation does not proscribe the precise cost-based totally methodologies, it states that DSS can also include methodologies designed to (1) reduce inpatient medical institution readmissions; (2) reduce useless caesarian section deliveries, take suitable actions to reduce preterm deliveries, and improve obstetrical care results; and (3) cope with outpatient infusions concerning high-fee medications through overall performance-based bills. DSS is allowed to segment in these new charge methodologies through the years.
This new law also requires DSS to reduce the overall relevant Medicaid fee using 15% for each sanatorium “readmission.” Readmission happens while, within 30 days following discharge from a relevant sanatorium, someone is readmitted for observation services for the same or comparable prognosis(es).
Expansion of Connecticut’s Breach Notification Law
Effective October 1, 2020
Under Connecticut’s existing breach notification law, any individual engaging in commercial enterprise within the state who, in the regular course of commercial enterprise, owns, licenses or maintains automated data that includes “non-public facts” need to (1) notify Connecticut residents in the occasion that such resident’s non-public information is breached or within reason believed to have been breached, and (2) offer at the least two years of perceiving safety offerings to people tormented by a breach. PA 19-117 expands the existing breach notification regulation to apply in instances of a breach or suspected breach of personal facts or “nonpublic facts.”
Nonpublic information is recorded that aren’t always publicly available, no longer associated with age or gender, and that (1) could materially affect a licensee’s business, operation, or protection if disclosed; (2) is created or derived from a consumer or health care company and issues behavioral, mental, or physical health, or fitness care offerings or payments; or (three) concerns a consumer’s name, range, or different identifiable information which could discover a customer when utilized in combination with other data which include an account variety, credit score or debit card number, biometric information, motive force’s license or Social Security variety.
Petition for Facility Closure
Effective July 1, 2019
Under current regulation, intermediate care facilities for people with highbrow disabilities that take part in Medicaid, nursing homes, relaxation houses, and residential care homes ought to normally observe to DSS to terminate a provider or appreciably decrease their bed capacity through making use of to DSS for a certificate of need. PA 19-117 lets in such facilities to submit a petition for closure to DSS, and it permits DSS to authorize such closure if sure conditions are met. The facility should show that: (1) it is not feasible based totally on real and projected operating losses; (2) it has an occupancy charge below 70% of its certified bed ability; (3) the closure complies with DSS’s strategic plans, consisting of people with admire to bed-want using geographic place; (4) it is compliant with positive federal necessities, which includes the ones relating to notification of facility closure; and (5) it is not presenting special offerings that might now not be met by some other provider if the ability closed. DSS is required to grant or deny the petition within 30 days of its receipt.
The new rules require the petitioning facility to inform the Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s Office when the power submits the petition to DSS. Furthermore, while a facility submits a petition for closure to DSS, it also offers written notes to all patients, guardians, conservators, or other responsible parties. It must put up the written observation in the facility in a conspicuous place. Among different matters, the notice ought to encompass a quick description of the reasons for the facility’s closure and that no affected person could be involuntarily transferred or discharged from the ability due to the petition.
