Section 9953 - Submission and analysis of hospital financial information(a) Hospitals shall annually submit to the Board any of the following information required by the Board under rules, regulations, and guidance promulgated under this subchapter: (1) The hospital's operating budget for the forthcoming year, including expenditures and revenues, redlined to reflect increases and changes from the previous year.(2) Spending and revenue data from the previous year.(3) Financial information, including costs of operations, revenues, assets, liabilities, rates, charges, units of service, and wage, salary, and other labor costs for each service line and budget category.(4) Scope of services and volume of service information, including inpatient services, outpatient services, and ancillary services by type of service provided.(5) Utilization information.(6) New hospital services and programs proposed for the forthcoming year.(7) Projected 3-year capital budget.(8) Contract information with public and private payers and purchasers.(9) Other information the Board determines to be relevant to the budget review process.(b) Hospitals shall submit audited financial statements to the Board, within 30 days of such audited financial statements becoming finalized. This requirement begins with audited financial statements for 2023.(c) The Board shall conduct reviews of each hospital's proposed budget based on the information provided pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.(d) In connection with budget reviews, the Board shall do all of the following:(1) Review utilization information.(2) Consider the expenditure and revenue analysis for the previous year and the proposed expenditure and revenue analysis for the forthcoming year and determine whether the hospital has satisfied the State's health care spending policy directives, including the health care spending benchmark and the annual rate filing cost containment requirements under § 2503 of Title 18.(3) Meet with hospitals to review and discuss their budget proposals for the forthcoming year.(4) Review the hospital's investments in workforce development initiatives.(5) Consider the salaries for the hospital's executive and clinical leadership and the hospital's salary spread, including a comparison to salaries in other states in the region.(6) Offer the opportunity for the public to provide comment on hospital budgets and other aspects of hospital costs.(e) A hospital's violation of the Board's standards and procedures is subject to enforcement under § 9957 of this title.Added by Laws 2023, ch. 270,s 2, eff. 6/13/2024.Section 4 of the 2024 amending legislation provides that "Sections 1 and 2 of this Act are effective upon enactment, and hospitals, in accordance with regulations and guidance promulgated by the Board, are required to begin submission of budget information under § 9953 of Title 16 in 2025 for the 2026 budget year. The Board may require the submission of more than 1 year of historical financial information in its initial year of operation. The Board may not require the submission of a performance improvement plan under § 9954 of Title 16 until 2026."