Hospital charity care payment program administered by the commissioner of health established, money collected from the hospital surcharge deposited in a charity care account in the special revenue fund, and money appropriated.

This bill creates a program to provide financial payments to nonprofit hospitals in Minnesota that offer charity care to patients who cannot afford their medical bills. The state will collect money from a hospital surcharge and place it in a dedicated account to fund these payments, which are distributed based on the amount of charity care each eligible hospital provides. Nonprofit hospitals licensed in the state are eligible to receive funds, while state-run facilities, VA medical centers, and long-term acute care hospitals are excluded. The commissioner of health will manage the program, calculating payments by adjusting the reported charity care amounts to reflect actual costs before distributing the available funds.