AN ACT to make the university of north carolina health care system's debt collection practices more patient friendly and to assist certain patients.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 116‑37(f) reads as rewritten:
"(f)	Finances – Patient/Health Care System Benefit. – The Chief Executive Officer of the University of North Carolina Health Care System, or the Chief Executive Officer's designee, may expend operating budget funds, including State funds, of the University of North Carolina Health Care System for the direct benefit of a patient, when, in the judgment of the Chief Executive Officer or the Chief Executive Officer's designee, the expenditure of these funds would result in a financial benefit to the University of North Carolina Health Care System. Any such expenditures are declared to result in the provision of medical services and create charges of the University of North Carolina Health Care System for which the health care system may bill and pursue recovery in the same way as allowed by law for recovery of other health care systems' charges for services that are unpaid.
These expenditures shall be restricted (i) to situations in which a patient is financially unable to afford ambulance or other transportation for discharge; (ii) to afford placement in an after‑care facility; (iii) to assure availability of a bed in an after‑care facility after discharge from the hospitals; (iv) to secure equipment or other medically appropriate services after discharge; or (v) to pay health insurance premiums. The Chief Executive Officer or the Chief Executive Officer's designee shall reevaluate at least once a month the cost‑effectiveness of any continuing payment on behalf of a patient.
To the extent that the University of North Carolina Health Care System advances anticipated government entitlement benefits for a patient's benefit, for which the patient later receives a lump‑sum "back‑pay" award from an agency of the State, whether for the current admission or subsequent admission, the State agency shall withhold from this back pay an amount equal to the sum advanced on the patient's behalf by the University of North Carolina Health Care System, if, prior to the disbursement of the back pay, the applicable State program has received notice from the University of North Carolina Health Care System of the advancement."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 143‑553(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	All persons employed by an employing entity as defined by this Part who owe money to the State and whose salaries are paid in whole or in part by State funds must make full restitution of the amount owed as a condition of continuing  employment; provided, however, that no employing entity shall terminate for failure to make full restitution the employment of such an employee who owes money to the University of North Carolina Health Care System for health care services."
SECTION 3.  G. S. 147‑86.11(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Elements of Plan. – For moneys received or to be received, the statewide cash management plan shall provide at a minimum that:
(1)	Except as otherwise provided by law, moneys received by employees of State agencies in the normal course of their employment shall be deposited as follows:
a.	Moneys received in trust for specific beneficiaries for which the employee‑custodian has a duty to invest shall be deposited with the State Treasurer under the provisions of G.S. 147‑69.3.
b.	All other moneys received shall be deposited with the State Treasurer pursuant to G.S. 147‑77 and G.S. 147‑69.1.
(2)	Moneys received shall be deposited daily in the form and amounts received, except as otherwise provided by statute.
(3)	Moneys due to a State agency by another governmental agency or by private persons shall be promptly billed, collected and deposited.
(4)	Unpaid billings due to a State agency other than amounts owed by patients to the University of North Carolina Health Care System shall be turned over to the Attorney General for collection no more than 90 days after the due date of the billing, except that a State agency need not turn over to the Attorney General unpaid billings of less than five hundred dollars ($500.00), or (for institutions where applicable) amounts owed by all patients which are less than the federally established deductible applicable to Part A of the Medicare program, and instead may handle these unpaid bills pursuant to agency debt collection procedures.
(4a)	The University of  North Carolina Health Care System may turn over to the Attorney General for collection accounts owed by patients.
(5)	Moneys received in the form of warrants drawn on the State Treasurer shall be deposited by the State agency directly with the State Treasurer and not through the banking system, unless otherwise approved by the State Treasurer.
(6)	State agencies shall accept payment by electronic payment in accordance with G.S. 147‑86.22 to the maximum extent possible consistent with sound business practices."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 147‑86.23 reads as rewritten:
"§ 147‑86.23.  Interest and penalties.
A State agency shall charge interest at the rate established pursuant to G.S. 105‑241.1(i) on a past‑due account receivable from the date the account receivable was due until it is paid. A State agency shall add to a past‑due account receivable a late payment penalty of no more than ten percent (10%) of the account receivable. A State agency may waive a late‑payment penalty for good cause shown. If another statute requires the payment of interest or a penalty on a past‑due account receivable, this section does not apply to that past‑due account receivable. This section does not apply to money owed to the University of North Carolina Health Care System for health care services."

SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.  
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 18th day of July, 2007.

	s/	 Marc Basnight
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 12:10 p.m. this 28th day of July, 2007