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Rhode Island General Laws 23-17-14.4. Procedures for review

     

(a)  Within ten (10) working days of receipt, in acceptable form, of an application for an initial license or a license in connection with a change in the owner, operator, or lessee of any existing health care facility, the licensing agency will notify and afford the public an opportunity to comment on the application.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 23-17-14.4

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Health care facility: means a hospital or a nursing facility. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-17-59
  • Licensing agency: means the Rhode Island state department of health. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-17-2
  • Person: means any individual, trust or estate, partnership, corporation (including associations, joint stock companies, and insurance companies), state, or political subdivision or instrumentality of a state. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-17-2

(b)  The recommendations of the health services council and the decision of the licensing agency will be rendered within ninety (90) days of acceptance of the application for license.

(c)  The licensing agency shall promulgate in rules and regulations procedures and criteria for expedited review of licensure applications. The criteria for expedited review consideration shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) that the licensure application is solely for initial licensure; (2) that the legal entity seeking a license currently is the licensee for one or more Rhode Island licensed health care facilities whose records of compliance are deemed by the licensing agency to demonstrate the legal entity’s ability and commitment to provide quality health care services; and (3) that the licensure application demonstrates complete and satisfactory compliance with review criteria in § 23-17-14.3. The licensing agency shall exercise its discretion in granting expedited review of license applications and a decision by the licensing agency not to process an application on an expedited review basis shall be final and shall not be subject to appeal.

(d)  The decision of the licensing agency shall be based upon the findings and recommendations of the health services council unless the licensing agency shall afford written justification for variance from these findings and recommendations.

(e)  All applications reviewed by the licensing agency and all written materials pertinent to licensing agency review, including minutes of all health services council meetings, shall be accessible to the public upon request.

(f)  Any person holding a valid certificate of need issued pursuant to chapter 15 of this title, shall be exempt from the requirements of § 23-17-14.3 or 23-17-14.4 of this chapter for initial facility licensure.

(g)  Any person holding a valid license for an outpatient rehabilitation center intended to be operational for less than twelve (12) months and so indicated upon its application shall surrender its license upon cessation of patient care operations for that operational season. Within a period not to exceed twelve (12) months from the surrender, the person may apply for a new license for the identical activities and premises authorized by the previous but surrendered license, and shall be exempt from the requirements of § 23-17-14.3 or 23-17-14.4 for initial facility licensure.

History of Section.
P.L. 1984, ch. 134, § 2; P.L. 1996, ch. 433, § 3; P.L. 1999, ch. 336, § 1.

Rhode Island General Laws 23-17.14-4. Definitions

     

For purposes of this chapter:

(1)  “Acquiree” means the person or persons that lose(s) any ownership or control in the new hospital as a result of a conversion, as the terms “conversion”, “new hospital”, and “person(s)” are defined within this chapter.

(2)  “Acquiror” means the person or persons that gain(s) an ownership or control in the new hospital as a result of a conversion, as the terms “conversion”, “new hospital”, and “person(s)” are defined within this chapter.

(3)  “Affected community” means any city or town within the state wherein an existing hospital is physically located and/or those cities and towns whose inhabitants are regularly served by the existing hospital.

(4)  “Charity care” is defined as healthcare services provided by a hospital without charge to a patient and for which the hospital does not and has not expected payment.

(5)  “Community benefit” means the provision of hospital services that meet the ongoing needs of the community for primary and emergency care in a manner that enables families and members of the community to maintain relationships with persons who are hospitalized or are receiving hospital services, and shall also include, but not be limited to charity care and uncompensated care.

(6)  “Conversion” means any transfer by a person or persons of an ownership or membership interest or authority in a hospital, or the assets of a hospital, whether by purchase, merger, consolidation, lease, gift, joint venture, sale, or other disposition that results in a change of ownership or control or possession of twenty percent (20%) or greater of the members or voting rights or interests of the hospital or of the assets of the hospital or pursuant to which, by virtue of the transfer, a person, together with all persons affiliated with the person, holds or owns, in the aggregate, twenty percent (20%) or greater of the membership or voting rights or interests of the hospital or of the assets of the hospital, or the removal, addition, or substitution of a partner that results in a new partner gaining or acquiring a controlling interest in the hospital, or any change in membership that results in a new person gaining or acquiring a controlling vote in the hospital.

(7)  “Current conflict of interest forms” means conflict of interest forms signed within one year prior to the date the application is submitted on a form acceptable to the department of the attorney general, setting forth any possible conflict of interest for all officers, directors, members of the board, trustees, senior management, chairpersons or department chairpersons and medical directors, or the transacting parties and their families.

(8)  “Department” means the department of health and the department of the attorney general.

(9)  “Director” means the director of the department of health.

(10)  “Existing hospital” means the acquiree hospital as it exists prior to the acquisition.

(11)  “For-profit corporation” means a legal entity formed for the purpose of transacting business that has as any one of its purposes pecuniary profit.

(12)  “Hospital” means a person or governmental entity licensed in accordance with chapter 17 of this title to establish, maintain, and operate a hospital.

(13)  “Incumbent or recently incumbent” means those individuals holding the position at the time the application was submitted and any individual who held a similar position within one year prior to the application’s acceptance.

(14)  “New hospital” means the acquiree hospital as it exists after the completion of a conversion.

(15)  “Not-for-profit corporation” means a legal entity formed for some charitable or benevolent purpose and not-for-profit which has been exempted from taxation pursuant to Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3), 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3).

(16)  “Person” means any individual, trust or estate, partnership, corporation (including associations, joint stock companies, and insurance companies), state or political subdivision, or instrumentality of the state.

(17)  “Senior managers” or “senior management” means executives and senior level managers of a transacting party.

(18)  “Transacting parties” means the acquiree and the acquiror.

(19)  “Uncompensated care” means a combination of free care, which the hospital provides at no cost to the patient; bad debt, which the hospital bills for but does not collect; and less than full Medicaid reimbursement amounts.

History of Section.
P.L. 1997, ch. 372, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 258, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 259, § 1; P.L. 2022, ch. 401, § 1, effective June 30, 2022; P.L. 2022, ch. 441, § 1, effective June 30, 2022.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 23-17.14-4

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9