Section 128760.

(a) On and after January 1, 1986, those systems of health facility accounting and auditing formerly approved by the California Health Facilities Commission shall remain in full force and effect for use by health facilities but shall be maintained by the office.

(b) The office shall allow and provide, in accordance with appropriate regulations, for modifications in the accounting and reporting systems for use by health facilities in meeting the requirements of this chapter if the modifications are necessary to do any of the following:

(1) To correctly reflect differences in size of, provision of, or payment for, services rendered by health facilities.

(2) To correctly reflect differences in scope, type, or method of provision of, or payment for, services rendered by health facilities.

(3) To avoid unduly burdensome costs for those health facilities in meeting the requirements of differences pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2).

(c) Modifications to discharge data reporting requirements. The office shall allow and provide, in accordance with appropriate regulations, for modifications to discharge data reporting format and frequency requirements if these modifications will not impair the office's ability to process the data or interfere with the purposes of this chapter. This modification authority shall not be construed to permit the office to administratively require the reporting of discharge data items not specified pursuant to Section 128735.

(d) Modifications to emergency care data reporting requirements. The office shall allow and provide, in accordance with appropriate regulations, for modifications to emergency care data reporting format and frequency requirements if these modifications will not impair the office's ability to process the data or interfere with the purposes of this chapter. This modification authority shall not be construed to permit the office to require administratively the reporting of emergency care data items not specified in subdivision (a) of Section 128736.

(e) Modifications to ambulatory surgery data reporting requirements. The office shall allow and provide, in accordance with appropriate regulations, for modifications to ambulatory surgery data reporting format and frequency requirements if these modifications will not impair the office's ability to process the data or interfere with the purposes of this chapter. The modification authority shall not be construed to permit the office to require administratively the reporting of ambulatory surgery data items not specified in subdivision (a) of Section 128737.

(f) Reporting provisions for health facilities. The office shall establish specific reporting provisions for health facilities that receive a preponderance of their revenue from associated comprehensive group practice prepayment health care service plans. These health facilities shall be authorized to utilize established accounting systems, and to report costs and revenues in a manner that is consistent with the operating principles of these plans and with generally accepted accounting principles. When these health facilities are operated as units of a coordinated group of health facilities under common management, they shall be authorized to report as a group rather than as individual institutions. As a group, they shall submit a consolidated income and expense statement.

(g)  Hospitals authorized to report as a group under this subdivision may elect to file cost data reports required under the regulations of the Social Security Administration in its administration of Title XVIII of the federal Social Security Act in lieu of any comparable cost reports required under Section 128735. However, to the extent that cost data is required from other hospitals, the cost data shall be reported for each individual institution.

(h) The office shall adopt comparable modifications to the financial reporting requirements of this chapter for county hospital systems consistent with the purposes of this chapter.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 32, Sec. 32. Effective June 29, 2011. Operative January 1, 2012, by Sec. 73 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 32.)