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 Oklahoma Statutes (Last Updated: September 18, 2014)
 Title 63. PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY

  § 63-3203. Purposes - Legislative findings - Continued subsidized indigent health care - Powers of Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma.  

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  • A.  The purposes of the University Hospitals Authority Act are to provide for an effective and efficient administration, to ensure a dependable source of funding, and to effectuate the mission and purposes of the University Hospitals Authority.  The mission and purposes of the University Hospitals are to serve as general hospitals, to serve as teaching and training facilities for students enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, to serve as a site for conducting medical and biomedical research by faculty members of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and to provide care for the medically indigent.  The University Hospitals shall maintain a close affiliation with the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and shall coordinate their operations and activities in a cooperative manner.  In addition, the University Hospitals Authority shall provide indigent and nonindigent patient care, as more fully described herein.

    B.  The Legislature finds that the needs of the citizens of this state and the needs of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center will be best served if the University Hospitals are operated by a separate Authority charged with the mission of operating or leasing the operations of the teaching hospitals for the benefit of the colleges of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and providing care for the medically indigent.

    C.  The University Hospitals Authority, by receiving the assets and operating obligations, shall ensure that the costs of delivering medically indigent care continue to be subsidized in excess of the state reimbursement for the medically indigent, consistent with the teaching hospitals' past policy and performance and that of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.  The Authority shall make or cause to be made every reasonable effort to continue the hospitals' historic commitment to the provision of uncompensated care and that the allocation and investment of resources shall be made with a view to maximizing the hospitals' long-term ability to provide uncompensated care, except as may be modified by changes in federal or state law.  The University Hospitals Authority shall ensure that indigent care provided by the Oklahoma Medical Center during a fiscal year shall be equal to or exceed one hundred twenty percent (120%) of the annual appropriation to the University Hospitals Authority for indigent care.  The level of indigent care provided shall be based on Medicare costs as determined by the most recent report filed by any operating entity of the University Hospitals with the federal Health Care Finance Administration.

    D.  As used in this section, "indigent care" means charity care, Medicaid contractual allowances, all debt arising from accounts for which there is no third-party coverage including services provided to the Department of Corrections and Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services as otherwise required by law.  For purposes of this subsection, third-party coverage shall not include Medicaid coverage.

    E.  The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma shall retain full power to govern the personnel, curriculum and facilities of the University of Oklahoma.

Added by Laws 1993, c. 330, § 3, emerg. eff. June 8, 1993.  Amended by Laws 1995, c. 263, § 1; Laws 1997, c. 174, § 1, emerg. eff. May 8, 1997; Laws 2000, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 8, § 11, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2002, c. 384, § 3, emerg. eff. June 4, 2002.