SCS/HCS/HB 2402 - This act requires the Department of Health and Senior Services to promulgate regulations for the construction and renovation of hospitals that will include standards that reflect the Life Safety Code standards imposed under Medicare. Hospitals shall not be required to meet the standards contained in the Facility Guidelines Institute for the Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities, but any hospital that complies with the 2010 or later version of such guidelines shall not be required to comply with any inconsistent or conflicting regulations. The Department may waive enforcement of these standards for licensed hospitals if the department determines that: (1) compliance with them would result in unreasonable hardship for the facility and the health and safety of hospital patients would not be compromised by such a waiver; or (2) the hospital used other equivalent standards. Any conflicting regulations promulgated by the Department that are currently in existence and that conflict with the standards promulgated pursuant to this act shall lapse on and after January 1, 2018. Regulations developed pursuant to this act may incorporate by reference later additions or amendments to such rules, regulations, standards, or guidelines as needed to consistently apply current standards of safety and practice.
This act also requires hospitals operated and licensed by the state, with the exception of Department of Mental Health-operated psychiatric hospitals, to obtain a certificate of need and to comply with statutes relating to certificates of need. However, no certificate of need shall be required for the purchase and operation of medical equipment used by an academic health center operated by the state in furtherance of research or instruction.
Under this act, there shall be a moratorium on the issuance of certificates of need by the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee for new or additional beds in any residential care, assisted living, intermediate care, or skilled nursing facility from August 28, 2016, to December 31, 2019. The moratorium shall not apply to the following: (1) bed additions, expansions, transfers, relocations, or replacements; (2) renovation, repair, or replacement of existing facilities and beds on a single campus; (3) reallocation of licensed beds among licensed facilities with common ownership or affiliated operators on a single campus; (4) construction of new or additional beds at any facility as proposed in a letter of intent before June 1, 2016; and (5) construction of new or additional beds at any facility when the average occupancy of all facilities in the same category within 15 miles of the project site has been equal to or greater than 85% during the most recent four quarters according to the Committee's occupancy data.
This act creates the Missouri Task Force on Certificate of Need. The act specifies the task force members, rules, and duties. The task force's goal is to develop a comprehensive proposal to reform Missouri's certificate of need law as applied to long-term care facilities. The task force shall review long-term care facility certificates of need in other states and current occupancy, utilization rates, and staffing, among other specified duties. On or before December 31, 2018, the task force shall submit a report on its findings to the Governor and General Assembly. The task force shall expire on January 1, 2019, or upon submission of the report, whichever is earlier.
This act contains an emergency clause for certain provisions.
Provisions of this act are identical to provisions in CCS#2/HCS/SS/SB 608 (2016), CCS/HCS/SB 635 (2016), HCS/SCS/SB 781 (2016), CCS/HCS/SCS/SB 973 (2016), SCS/HB 1816 (2016), and SCS/HCS/HB 2376 (2016), substantially similar to provisions in SCS/SB 1076 (2016), and similar to provisions in SB 1052 (2016).
SARAH HASKINS