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2018 Session

Budget Amendments - SB30 (Floor Approved)

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Moratorium and Study of Free-Standing Emergency Facilities (language only)

Item 290 #1s

Item 290 #1s

Health and Human Resources
Department of Health

Language

Page 245, after line 47, insert:

"F.  Between July 1, 2018, and July 1, 2019, no person shall establish a new emergency facility that includes, as part of such facility, a dedicated emergency department as defined in 42 C.F.R. § 489.24(b) that operates as a department of a hospital subject to requirements of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (42 U.S.C.§ 1395dd) and is located off the main hospital campus. The Joint Commission on Administrative Rules shall be directed to study the need to regulate freestanding dedicated emergency departments as medical care facilities projects subject to review and approval under Virginia's Certificate of Public Need program and to report back to the General Assembly by November 30, 2018. In conducting its study, the Commission shall review (i) the payor and consumer cost of care in freestanding emergency departments versus physician office and urgent care office settings, (ii) the impact of freestanding emergency department placement on existing hospitals in the area, and (iii) other methods of transparency that protect consumers, such as pre-admission disclosure of visit cost and signage. For purposes of this section, a "new emergency facility" shall mean that the developer of the proposed facility did not initiate construction by July 1, 2018 or have a formal plan of construction (as that term is used in § 32.1-102.1, Code of Virginia) in place by February 15, 2018."



Explanation

(This amendment imposes a one-year moratorium on the construction of freestanding emergency room departments to provide time for the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules (JCAR) to study the need to regulate such facilities under Virginia's Certificate of Public Need program. JCAR will review the cost of care in freestanding emergency departments compared to other settings, their impact on other hospitals collocated nearby, and transparency for consumers to ensure they are fully informed of the costs of using such facilities. JCAR shall report back to the General Assembly by November 30, 2018.)