THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	790
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO EMERGENCY ON-CALL PHYSICIANS.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  Fewer physicians have been providing on-call services in hospital emergency departments in recent years due to liability issues and inadequate reimbursements.  As a result, emergency departments are experiencing increased overcrowding and longer waiting times.  Nationally, for example, seventy‑three per cent of emergency departments report inadequate on-call coverage by specialist physicians.  Specialists who are particularly difficult to secure for on-call coverage include orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons, trauma surgeons, hand surgeons, obstetrician-gynecologists, neurologists, ophthalmologists and dermatologists.

     The purpose of this Act is to create a financial incentive in the form of a tax credit for physicians who provide on-call services to emergency departments.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 235, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part III to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§235‑    Emergency room physician tax credit.  (a)  There shall be allowed to each qualified taxpayer subject to the taxes imposed by this chapter, an emergency room physician tax credit that shall be applied to the qualified taxpayer's net income tax liability, if any, imposed by this chapter for the taxable year in which the credit is properly claimed.

     (b)  The tax credit shall be in an amount equal to five per cent of the amount of medical malpractice insurance premium paid by the qualified taxpayer for the taxable year in which the credit is properly claimed.

     (c)  As used in this section, "qualified taxpayer" means a physician licensed under chapter 453 who:

     (1)  Provides medical care in a state-approved hospital emergency room on an on-call basis;

     (2)  Has worked a minimum of five hundred and seventy-six on-call hours in the year for which the tax credit is claimed; and

     (3)  Does not owe the State delinquent taxes, penalties, or interest.

     (d)  If the tax credit claimed by the qualified taxpayer under this section exceeds the qualified taxpayer's income tax liability, the excess of credit over liability shall be refunded to the qualified taxpayer; provided that the tax credit properly claimed by a qualified taxpayer who has no income tax liability shall be paid to the qualified taxpayer; and provided further that no refunds or payments on account of the tax credit allowed by this section shall be made for amounts less than $1.

     (e)  The director of taxation shall prepare forms that may be necessary to claim a credit under this section, may require proof of the claim for the tax credit, and may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.

     (f)  Claims for the tax credit under this section, including any amended claims, shall be filed on or before the end of the twelfth month following the taxable year for which the credit may be properly claimed."

     SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act, upon its approval, shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Emergency Room Physicians; Tax Credit

 

Description:

Establishes a tax credit equal to five per cent of the amount of medical malpractice insurance premium paid by a physician who provides on-call services to emergency departments.

 

 

 

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