HB 615-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2023 SESSION
23-0234
05/04
HOUSE BILL 615-FN
AN ACT requiring independent audits of reproductive health care facilities.
SPONSORS: Rep. Edwards, Rock. 31; Rep. Love, Rock. 13; Rep. Seidel, Hills. 29; Rep. Notter, Hills. 12; Rep. Ulery, Hills. 13; Rep. McCarter, Belk. 8; Rep. Harley, Rock. 30; Rep. Potucek, Rock. 13
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ANALYSIS
This bill provides that state funds awarded to reproductive health care facilities shall be limited to the minimum amount necessary for participation in the Medicaid program. The bill also requires state contracts with certain reproductive health care facilities to include provisions indicating that state funds shall not be used to subsidize abortion and that the facility shall undergo an independent audit, the results of which will be provided to the executive council prior to taking action on the contract.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
23-0234
05/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT requiring independent audits of reproductive health care facilities.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Duties of the Department of Health and Human Services; Reproductive Health Facilities; Independent Audit Required. Amend RSA 161:2 by inserting after paragraph XVIII the following new paragraph:
XIX. Reproductive Health Facilities; Funding; Independent Audit Required.
(a) No state funds shall be awarded by the department of health and human services to a reproductive health care facility, as defined in RSA 132:37, I, except the funding available from the state pursuant to Title XIX of the Social Security Act to the minimum extent necessary to comply with federal conditions for the state's participation in the Medicaid program.
(b) If a family planning project has any financial or geographic connection to a reproductive health care facility that provides abortion services, the state contract shall specify the following:
(1) No state funds shall be used to subsidize abortions, either directly or indirectly.
(2) The family planning project shall undergo an external, independent audit by a certified public accountant and provide the results, along with any corrective action plan, to the commissioner of the department of health and human services, or his or her designated agent or delegate. The independent audit shall inspect the financial records of the family planning project to monitor compliance with this section.
(3) At least one week prior to any contract action to be taken by the executive council, the commissioner shall provide, in writing, to the governor and council a true copy of the audit and a complete corrective action plan if deemed necessary in response to audit findings. Those copies shall be provided no less than one week prior to any contract action requested of the executive council. The commissioner shall certify in writing that he or she, personally or through a designated agent or delegate, has reviewed the expenditure of funds awarded to a family planning project under this section and that no state funds awarded by the department have been used to provide abortion services.
(4) That if the commissioner fails to make such certification or fails to provide required documentation to the governor and executive council, based on evidence presented by the commissioner in his or her certification, find that state funds awarded by the department have been used to provide abortion services, the grant recipient shall either:
(A) Be found to be in breach of the terms of such contract, grant, or award of funds and forfeit all right to receive further funding; or
(B) Suspend all operations until such time as the state funded family planning project is physically and financially separate from any reproductive health facility, as defined in RSA 132:37.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
23-0234
Revised 1/24/23
HB 615-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT requiring independent audits of reproductive health care facilities.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ X ] None
|
|
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill, as introduced, will have no impact on state, county, or local revenues or expenditures.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Health and Human Services