Certificate of public need; revises the Medical Care Facilities Certificate of Public Need Program. (SB764)

Introduced By

Sen. George Barker (D-Alexandria)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Certificate of public need. Revises the Medical Care Facilities Certificate of Public Need Program. The bill (i) removes from the list of reviewable medical care facilities specialized centers or clinics or that portion of a physician's office developed for the provision of lithotripsy, magnetic source imaging, or nuclear medicine imaging; (ii) removes from the definition of project introduction into an existing medical care facility of any new lithotripsy, magnetic source imaging, or obstetrical service that the facility has never provided or has not provided in the previous 12 months and the addition by an existing medical care facility of any medical equipment for the provision of lithotripsy and magnetic source imaging; (iii) creates a new process for registration of projects exempted from the definition of project by the bill; (iv) renames the State Medical Facilities Plan as the State Health Services Plan and establishes a State Health Services Plan task force to provide recommendations related to the content of the State Health Services Plan; (v) clarifies the content of the application for a certificate; (vi) reduces the timeline for a person to be made party to the case for good cause from 80 calendar days to four days following completion of the review and submission of recommendations related to an application; (vii) requires the Commissioner of Health to condition issuance of a certificate upon the agreement of the applicant to provide care to individuals who are eligible for benefits under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1395 et seq.), Title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq.), and 10 U.S.C. § 1071 et seq. and permits the Commissioner to condition the issuance of a certificate on the agreement of the applicant to provide specialty medical services in addition to existing options for conditioning certificates; (viii) requires every certificate holder to develop a financial assistance policy that includes specific eligibility criteria and procedures for applying for charity care, which shall be provided to a patient at the time of admission or discharge or at the time services are provided, included with any billing statements sent to uninsured patients, posted conspicuously in public areas of the medical care facility for which the certificate was issued and posted on a website maintained by the certificate holder; (ix) eliminates the requirement that a person willfully fail, refuse, or neglect to comply with a plan of correction to be subject to a civil penalty so that any failure, refusal, or neglecting to comply with a plan of correction may subject the person to a civil penalty; and (x) provides that the Commissioner may consider any changes in the circumstances of the certificate holder resulting from changes in the financing or delivery of health care services, including changes to the Commonwealth's program of medical assistance services, and any other specific circumstances of the certificate holder when determining whether conditions imposed on a certificate continue to be appropriate. The bill also (a) directs the Department of Health to develop recommendations to reduce the duration of the average review cycle for applications for certificates of public need to not more than 120 days and to report on its recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than December 1, 2020, and (b) directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to implement a system to ensure that data needed to evaluate whether an application for a certificate is consistent with the State Health Services Plan and is timely and reliable; to make all public records pertaining to applications for certificates and the review process available in real time in a searchable, digital format online; to make an inventory of capacity authorized by certificates of public need, both operational and not yet operational, available in a digital format online; and to establish a public education and outreach program designed to improve public awareness of the certificate of public need process and the public's role in such process by January 1, 2021. The provisions of this bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Passed

History

DateAction
01/08/2020Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20103707D
01/08/2020Referred to Committee on Education and Health
01/27/2020Assigned Education sub: Certificate of Public Need
01/30/2020Impact statement from DPB (SB764)
02/06/2020Reported from Education and Health with amendments (9-Y 6-N) (see vote tally)
02/06/2020Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations
02/06/2020Reported from Finance and Appropriations with amendment (16-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/10/2020Constitutional reading dispensed (36-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/11/2020Read second time
02/11/2020Reading of amendments waived
02/11/2020Committee amendments agreed to
02/11/2020Reading of amendment waived
02/11/2020Committee amendment agreed to
02/11/2020Engrossed by Senate as amended SB764E
02/11/2020Printed as engrossed 20103707D-E
02/11/2020Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/11/2020Passed Senate (20-Y 19-N) (see vote tally)
02/13/2020Impact statement from DPB (SB764E)
02/14/2020Placed on Calendar
02/14/2020Read first time
02/14/2020Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions
02/18/2020House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
02/18/2020Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/18/2020Committee substitute printed 20108477D-H1
02/19/2020Impact statement from DPB (SB764H1)
02/20/2020Read second time
02/21/2020Read third time
02/21/2020Committee substitute agreed to 20108477D-H1
02/21/2020Engrossed by House - committee substitute SB764H1
02/21/2020Passed House with substitute BLOCK VOTE (98-Y 0-N)
02/21/2020VOTE: Block Vote Passage (98-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/25/2020Passed by for the day
02/26/2020VOTE: Agree To (84-Y 3-N) (see vote tally)
02/26/2020Passed by temporarily
02/26/2020House substitute rejected by Senate (7-Y 33-N) (see vote tally)
02/26/2020House receded from substitute (84-Y 3-N)
03/04/2020Enrolled
03/04/2020Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB764ER)
03/04/2020Impact statement from DPB (SB764ER)
03/05/2020Signed by President
03/06/2020Signed by Speaker
03/12/2020Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 12, 2020
03/12/2020G Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
04/11/2020Governor's recommendation received by Senate
04/22/2020Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (25-Y 15-N) (see vote tally)
04/22/2020House concurred in Governor's recommendation (86-Y 7-N)
04/22/2020VOTE: (86-Y 7-N)
04/22/2020G Governor's recommendation adopted
04/22/2020Reenrolled
04/22/2020Reenrolled bill text (SB764ER2)
04/22/2020Signed by President as reenrolled
04/22/2020Signed by Speaker as reenrolled
04/22/2020Enacted, Chapter 1271 (effective 7/1/20)
04/22/2020G Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1271)
05/01/2020VOTE: (86-Y 7-N)