CHAPTER 312
SB 323 - FINAL VERSION
3/23/00.....3834s
5/31/00.....4735cofc
2000 SESSION
01/09
SENATE BILL 323
AN ACT relative to ambulatory surgical facilities in service areas of rural hospitals.
COMMITTEE: Public Institutions, Health and Human Services
This bill lowers the threshold amount necessary for certificate of need review of the construction of ambulatory surgical centers within the service areas of certain hospitals.
This bill changes the threshold level for certain other new institutional health services.
This bill also establishes a task force to address certain issues regarding RSA 151-C.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
3/23/00 3834s
5/31/00 4735cofc
00-2643
01/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand
AN ACT relative to ambulatory surgical facilities in service areas of rural hospitals.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
312:1 Threshold; Acute Care Facilities. Amend RSA 151-C:5, II(a) to read as follows:
(a) The construction, development, expansion, or alteration of any acute care facility requiring a capital expenditure of more than [$1,500,000] $1,759,512. The board shall, by rule, adjust the capital expenditure threshold annually using an appropriate inflation index.
312:2 Threshold Limits. Amend RSA 151-C:5, II (f) to read as follows:
(f)(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), the construction, development, expansion, renovation, or alteration of any nursing home, ambulatory surgical facility, rehabilitation hospital, psychiatric hospital, specialty hospital, or other health care facility requiring a capital expenditure of more than [$1,000,000] $1,173,000. The board shall, by rule, adjust the capital expenditure threshold annually using an appropriate inflation index.
(2) The threshold amount for construction of ambulatory surgical centers within the service area of a hospital with fewer than 70 general hospital beds licensed by the department of health and human services shall be $500,000, which threshold shall be adjusted annually using an appropriate inflation index, unless there is an objection by such hospital, in which case the application shall be subject to review regardless of value. The board shall determine by rule the service areas of such hospitals.
312:3 New Section; Task Force; Amend RSA 151-C by inserting after section 15 the following new section:
151-C:16 Task Force Established; Membership.
I. There is established the task force on the certificate of need statute, RSA 151-C. The task force shall be composed of the following members:
(a) Two members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
(b) Two members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house.
(c) The commissioner of the department of health and human services, or designee.
(d) A representative of the New Hampshire Medical Society, appointed by such association.
(e) A representative of the New Hampshire Hospital Association, appointed by such association.
(f) A representative of the New Hampshire Ambulatory Surgery Association, appointed by such association.
(g) The executive director of the New Hampshire Health Care Association, or designee.
(h) The commissioner of insurance, or designee.
(i) The attorney general, or designee.
(j) A representative of the governor's office.
(k) A representative of the health services planning and review board, appointed by the chairperson of the board.
(l) Two consumers, appointed by the governor.
(m) An economist knowledgeable in issues of health care, appointed by the governor.
(n) A representative of the New Hampshire Nurses Association, appointed by the association.
(o) The president of the New Hampshire Residential Care Association, or designee.
(p) The chairperson of the Rural Health Coalition, or designee.
(q) The chairperson of the Community Hospital Coalition, or designee.
II. The term of office for task force members shall be coterminous with the member's term of office in his or her respective agency or organization. A chairperson shall be elected from the membership of the task force. Vacancies in task force membership shall be filled as soon as practicable by the respective agency or organization creating the vacancy. The first-named senate member shall call the first meeting within 30 days of the effective date of this section.
III. The task force members listed in subparagraphs I(c)-(q) may employ the assistance of additional members of their respective agency or organization as necessary to assist with a task or project undertaken by the task force.
IV. The task force members may elicit input or recommendations from other groups or organizations as necessary.
V. The task force shall investigate issues relating to the operation of the certificate of need statute, RSA 151-C, including, but not limited to, how the regulatory structure affects:
(a) The cost of health care services;
(b) The availability of and access to health care services;
(c) Competition and collaboration among health care providers;
(d) The provision of new health care services;
(e) The allocation of health care resources in the state; and
(f) The quality of health care.
VI. The task force shall cooperate and collaborate with other state or private agencies as may be necessary to address these issues, and shall consider input and recommendations from such state or private agencies on an ongoing basis.
VII. The task force shall conduct public hearings as may be necessary on matters pertaining to the certificate of need statute, RSA 151-C. Such hearings may be conducted in any part of the state as circumstances require.
VIII. Members of the task force shall serve without compensation, except that the legislative members of the task force shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the task force.
IX. The task force shall submit a detailed report of its findings, actions taken, and recommendations to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the governor on or before January 1, 2001 and each January 1 thereafter.
312:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
(Approved: June 21, 2000)
(Effective Date: June 21, 2000)
LBAO
00-2643
Amended 4/27/00
SB 323 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to ambulatory surgical facilities in service areas of rural hospitals.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services indicates this bill, as amended by the Senate, will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state, county and local revenue or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department is unable to estimate the number of ambulatory surgical facilities that would be constructed within the service areas of rural hospitals, and therefor, cannot determine the number of applications subject to review or the fiscal impact if the facilities were constructed.