HB4801 - Relating to authorizing the establishment of a grant program to allow the Nueces County Hospital District to recruit and retain certain medical professionals.

  89R25431 MPF-F     By: Villalobos H.B. No. 4801     Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4801:     By:  Bell of Montgomery C.S.H.B. No. 4801       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to authorizing the establishment of a grant program to   allow the Nueces County Hospital District to recruit and retain   certain medical professionals.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 281.094(a), Health and Safety Code, is   amended to read as follows:          (a)  With the approval of the Nueces County Commissioners   Court, the board of the Nueces County Hospital District may use   funds made available to the district from sources other than a tax   levy to fund :                 (1)   health care services, including public health   services, mental health services, intellectual disability   services, emergency medical services, health services provided to   persons confined in jail facilities, and for other health related   purposes ; and                 (2)     a grant program established under Section   281.0941 .          SECTION 2.  Subchapter E, Chapter 281, Health and Safety   Code, is amended by adding Section 281.0941 to read as follows:           Sec.   281.0941.     NUECES COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT PHYSICIAN   RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The board of the   Nueces County Hospital District may establish and administer a   grant program for hospitals located in the hospital district to   provide the funding necessary to:                 (1)  allow hospitals in the district to:                       (A)     retain physicians currently practicing at   those hospitals; and                       (B)     recruit physicians who practice medicine in a   specialty or subspecialty providing treatment for the most common   and critical health care needs of the residents of the hospital   district to practice at those hospitals; and                 (2)     increase the number of residency positions at   hospitals in the district.           (b)     If the board of the hospital district establishes a   grant program under this section, the board shall adopt rules to   ensure the grant is used in a manner that is consistent with the   public purpose of providing medical aid and hospital care for the   indigent and needy individuals residing in the district, including   rules:                 (1)     prescribing the manner in which a hospital in the   district may apply for a grant under this section;                 (2)     establishing eligibility and selection criteria   for a hospital to be awarded a grant under this section;                 (3)     establishing accountability controls for   hospitals awarded a grant under this section to ensure the district   receives a benefit in return for the award of the grant; and                 (4)     relating to any other aspect of the program the   board determines necessary for the program's administration.           (c)     The board of the hospital district may not use money   received by the district under Chapter 298C to fund a grant awarded   under this section.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.