H.B. 2

VETOES

Maryland Insurance Commissioner to administer the Fund; providing that the
Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund; requiring the State Treasurer to hold the
Fund and the Comptroller to account for the Fund; requiring that interest on
and other income from the Fund be separately accounted for; providing that the
debts and obligations of the Fund are not debts and obligations of the State or a
pledge of credit of the State; providing that the Fund consists of the revenue
imposed from the premium tax on health maintenance organizations and
managed care organizations and interest on and other income from the Fund;
establishing the Medical Assistance Program Account within the Fund;
authorizing the Commissioner to enter into certain agreements with medical
professional liability insurers to provide certain disbursements from the Fund
for a certain purpose in certain years; requiring certain medical professional
liability insurers to establish a certain account for a certain purpose; providing
that the Fund may not incur an obligation until a certain time; providing that
certain medical professional liability insurers are eligible for disbursements
from the Fund based on a certain schedule; requiring medical professional
liability insurers to apply for disbursements from the Fund on a certain form
and in a certain manner; providing that for statutory accounting purposes the
Commissioner shall allow certain medical professional liability insurers a
certain credit for disbursements made from the Fund; requiring disbursements
from the Fund to the Maryland Medical Assistance Program to be expended to
increase fee-for-service physician rates for certain procedures and to increase
payments by managed care organizations for certain specialty physician
services; prohibiting disbursements from the Fund to the Medical Mutual
Liability Insurance Society of Maryland under certain circumstances; requiring
that the receipts and disbursements of the Fund be audited annually; requiring
that certain unused portions of the Fund revert to the General Fund of the
State; requiring the Commissioner to adopt regulations that specify the
information that medical professional liability insurers shall submit to receive
disbursement from the Fund; requiring the Commissioner to report certain
information to the Legislative Policy Committee on or before a certain date each
year; providing that a certain rate filing is subject to a certain provision of the
Insurance Article; providing for the termination of certain provisions of this Act;
providing that certain amounts may be provided to medical professional liability
insurers upon the termination of this Act; requiring that unused money
remaining in the Fund shall revert to the General Fund upon the termination of
this Act; requiring that unused payments made to medical professional liability
insurers for certain reserved claims revert to the General Fund; providing for
the application of certain provisions of this Act; requiring the Office of
Legislative Audits to audit the Health Claims Arbitration Fund and certain
transactions to determine certain obligations as of a certain date; requiring the
Office of Legislative Audits to make a certain report by a certain date; requiring
the Health Claims Arbitration Office to return certain money to the General
Fund by a certain date; that on a certain date the "Health Claims Arbitration
Office" be renamed the "Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office";
authorizing the publishers of the Annotated Code of Maryland to correct certain
references; requiring the Health Services Cost Review Commission to include in
certain rates a certain amount of funding for certain patient safety initiatives

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