(a) There is established the Hospital Services and Reimbursement Panel to advise in the development of and approve any state plan amendment which involves hospital services or reimbursement to be submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

(1) The panel shall consist of six members and be constituted in the following manner:

a. The Commissioner of the Alabama Medicaid Agency.

b. Three members to be appointed by the Governor from a list of 10 names submitted by the Alabama Hospital Association. The hospital members appointed shall represent the diverse ownership type of hospitals in the state.

c. Two members to be appointed by the Governor.

(2) All panel members shall be residents of Alabama and the composition of the board shall reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state. The panel shall meet within 30 days subsequent to May 15, 2009, to elect a chair and establish procedures necessary to carry out the business of the panel. A quorum shall be a majority of the members appointed to the panel. The sole purpose of the panel is to approve any amendments to the state plan to be submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services which involve hospital services or reimbursement. Amendments to the state plan must be approved by a majority of the members attending a meeting called for the purpose of reviewing and approving, amending, or disapproving the proposed state plan amendment.

(b) Medicaid shall file with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services a state plan amendment approved by the Hospital Services and Reimbursement Panel to implement the requirements of this article, including the payment of hospital access payments under this article no later than 45 days after the effective date of this article.

(c) If the state plan amendment is not approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the department shall:

(1) Not implement the assessment imposed under this article; and

(2) Return any assessment fees to the hospitals that paid the fees if assessment fees have been collected.