MARVIN MANDEL, Governor                        2839

House Bill No. 1340 - Health Services Cost
Review Commission

AN ACT concerning

Health Services Cost Review Commission

FOR the purpose of including State and university
hospitals within the jurisdiction and powers of the
Health Services Cost Review Commission.

May 17, 1976.
Honorable John Hanson Briscoe
Speaker of the House of Delegates
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17 of the
Maryland Constitution, I have today vetoed House Bill
1340.

This bill places the State hospitals, including the
University of Maryland Hospital, under the general
jurisdiction of the Health Services Cost Review
Commission, and requires in particular that they utilize
the systems of accounting and reporting adopted by the
Commission.

My objection to the bill is that it is unnecessary,
and would involve considerable expenditures for no useful
purpose.

Existing law authorizes the Commission to request
expenditure reports from and to review and approve
charges by all hospitals, health care and related
institutions. The law exempts neither the University
Hospital nor other State hospitals, and, in fact, the
University Hospital and other state hospitals submit
expenditure reports to the Commission. The Commission
also reviews and approves charges of the University
Hospital.

The procedure with respect to approval of charges by
the State hospitals differs because of the enactment of
Chapter 377, Acts of 1975, by which the General Assembly
recognized the rather unique status of the State
hospitals and their patients and provided a specific,
detailed manner and procedure for determining these
charges. Codified as Section 601 of Article 43, the law
provides for the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene
to establish, on an annual basis, charges for the State
hospitals by rule and regulation. These charges are