Chapter 154
2010 -- H 7654 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/25/10
A N A C T
RELATING TO
HEALTH AND SAFETY -- DISTRESSED ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY HOSPITALS
Introduced By: Representatives Fierro, Baldelli-Hunt, Brien, Newberry, and Pacheco
Date Introduced: February 25, 2010
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled
"HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
17.25
DISTRESSED
ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY HOSPITALS
23-17.25-1.
Legislative findings. – (1) Certain
community hospitals act as the sole
source of immediate access to hospital care for residents of
the areas they serve and are essential
to the maintenance of public health and safety;
(2) The diversity of
services provided by theses essential community hospitals are
necessary for the overall health and safety of the community,
but result in financial distress for
the hospitals that must serve large uninsured or
governmentally insured populations;
(3) The distressed
essential community hospitals generally report a loss from operations
and are in such a position that their liabilities exceed
their assets;
(4) Because of the
important medical services provided by such hospitals, restoring and
ensuring the continued financial viability of these distressed
essential community hospitals is
necessary for the public health and safety;
(5)
essential community hospital, currently under the supervision
of the
pursuant to a special mastership;
(6) In fiscal year
2009,
(40,000) emergency room patients, seven thousand
(7,000) inpatient cases and seventy-five
thousand (75,000) outpatient visits, proving that the
financial viability of Landmark Medical
Center is vital to the public health and safety of the
community it serves;
(7) Ensuring the
financial viability of
thousand three hundred (1,300) jobs and benefit the State of
(8)
sufficient amount of time to use any funds allocated to it for
the purposes of financial assistance
to restore its financial viability and ensure its
stability in the future; and
(9) To preserve the
viability of an essential community hospital, it may be necessary for
purposes of certain Medicare classifications to designate such
a hospital as a rural hospital.
23-17.25-2. Distressed essential community hospital sales and use tax
exemption. –
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of title 44 of the
recognition of
neither
(hereinafter defined
collectively as "LMC"), nor any success-in-interest to LMC
(regardless of
whether any such successor operates for profit or is subject
to federal or state taxation), shall be
required to pay or otherwise be financially responsible for
any
that might otherwise be due in connection with any
purchases, capital improvements, or any other
activities conducted by LMC (or its successors-in-interest)
pursuant to the health facility licenses
maintained by LMC (or its successors-in-interest).
(b) Notwithstanding
subsection (a) herein, this "distressed essential community hospital
sales and use tax exemption" shall not apply to
Associates, L.P. d/b/a
Northern Rhode Island Rehab Management Associates,
L.P. d/b/a
Island ("RHRI").
(c) This sales and
use tax exemption shall be effective as of the effective date of LMC's
conversion to a for-profit entity, in accordance with the
provisions of chapter 23-17.14 (Hospital
Conversions Act) and shall continue for a period of
twelve (12) years.
23-17.25-3. Rural hospital designation. – The State of
designations under the Medicare program, if
interest, if any, should choose to seek such special
designations.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01647/SUB A
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