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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED NINTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 945
Introduced by Dorn, 30.
Read first time January 09, 2026
Committee: Health and Human Services
A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to the Hospital Quality Assurance and Access1
Assessment Act; to amend section 68-2106, Revised Statutes2
Cumulative Supplement, 2024; to change provisions relating to use of3
the Hospital Quality Assurance and Access Assessment Fund; and to4
repeal the original section. 5
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,6
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Section 1. Section 68-2106, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,1
2024, is amended to read: 2
68-2106 (1) The Hospital Quality Assurance and Access Assessment3
Fund is created. Interest earned on the fund shall be credited to the4
fund. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by5
the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion6
Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act. 7
(2) The department shall use the Hospital Quality Assurance and8
Access Assessment Fund, including the matching federal financial9
participation, for the purpose of enhancing rates paid to hospitals under10
the medical assistance program except as allowed by subsection (3) of11
this section. Money in the fund shall not be used to replace or offset12
existing state funds paid to hospitals for providing services under the13
medical assistance program. 14
(3) The Hospital Quality Assurance and Access Assessment Fund shall15
also be used to: 16
(a) Reimburse the General Fund the amount of the first quarterly17
payment on or before June 30 of each fiscal year; 18
(b) Reimburse the department an administrative fee of three percent19
of the assessment, not to exceed fifteen million dollars per year, to20
collect assessments and administer directed-payment programs established21
by the Hospital Quality Assurance and Access Assessment Act;22
(c) Provide the Nebraska Center for Nursing Board one-half of one23
percent of the assessment, not to exceed two million five hundred24
thousand dollars per year, for the expansion of clinical nursing training25
sites as authorized in subsection (3) of section 71-1798; and26
(d) Provide funding of three and one-half percent of the assessment,27
not to exceed seventeen million five hundred thousand dollars per year,28
for rates for nonhospital providers in the medical assistance program,29
continuous eligibility for children, and or the designated health30
information exchange authorized in section 81-6,125.31
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(4) In calculating rates, the proceeds from assessments and federal1
match not utilized under subsection (3) of this section shall be used to2
enhance rates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services in addition3
to any funds appropriated by the Legislature. 4
(5) The department shall collect data for revenue, discharge, and5
inpatient days from a hospital that does not file an annual medicare cost6
report. At the request of the department, a hospital that does not file7
an annual medicare cost report shall submit such requested data to the8
department. 9
(6) The department shall prohibit a medicaid managed care10
organization from (a) setting, establishing, or negotiating reimbursement11
rates with a hospital in a manner that takes into account, directly or12
indirectly, a directed payment that a hospital receives under the13
Hospital Quality Assurance and Access Assessment Act, (b) unnecessarily14
delaying a directed payment to a hospital, or (c) recouping or offsetting15
a directed payment for any reason. 16
(7)(a) A hospital shall not: 17
(i) Set, establish, or negotiate reimbursement rates with a managed18
care organization in a manner that directly or indirectly takes into19
account a directed payment that a hospital receives under the Hospital20
Quality Assurance and Access Assessment Act; or 21
(ii) Directly pass on the cost of an assessment to patients or22
nonmedicaid payors, including as a fee or rate increase.23
(b) A hospital that violates this subsection shall not receive a24
directed payment for the remainder of the rate year. This subsection25
shall not be construed to prohibit a hospital from negotiating with a26
payor for a rate increase. 27
Sec. 2. Original section 68-2106, Revised Statutes Cumulative28
Supplement, 2024, is repealed. 29
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