§ 23-93-5. Moratorium - Statewide health plan - Inventory of healthcare facilities, equipment and services. (a) The health services council shall not review, and applicable state licensing agencies shall not issue, any approvals for new healthcare equipment or new institutional health services prior to July 1, 2015; provided, however, that any review by the health services council and approval by state agencies may be conducted during the moratorium period in the case of an emergency circumstance; a certificate of need not previously approved; a certificate of need request made pursuant to the nursing home culture change beds as defined in § 23-17-44(d); a certificate of need request made by a hospital or by a health care facility under common ownership with a hospital; a change in ownership with respect to an institutional health service; a change in the effective control of a hospital or other licensed facility; upgrades or improvements of services related to prior changes in effective control; or a compelling circumstance affecting the quality of life with respect to a certain geographic area or subpopulation such as, but not limited to, pain management delivered to the home. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any certificate of need application pending at the time of passage of this chapter shall continue to be reviewed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 15 of title 23; and shall not be subject to the moratorium provisions of this chapter.

(b) During the moratorium period provided in subsection (a) above, the department of health (for purposes of this section referred to as the "department") shall conduct, and shall conduct on a biennial basis thereafter, a statewide healthcare utilization and capacity study. Such study may include, but not be limited to, an assessment of:

(1) The current availability and utilization of acute hospital care, hospital emergency care, specialty hospital care, outpatient surgical care, home care and hospice agencies, assisted daily living and nursing homes, long-term care facilities, primary care and specialty and clinic care, behavioral and mental healthcare, and substance abuse care and services;

(2) The geographic areas and subpopulations that may be underserved or have reduced access to specific types of healthcare services; and

(3) Other factors that the department deems pertinent to healthcare utilization including, but not limited to, the number of magnetic resonance imaging facilities and physician ambulatory surgi-centers. Not later than November 1 of the year in which the study is conducted, the department shall report to the governor, the general assembly, and the healthcare planning and accountability advisory council ("council") on the findings of the study. Such report may also include the department's recommendations for addressing identified gaps in the provision of health services and institutional health services; recommendations concerning a lack of access to health services and institutional health services; and duplicative and/or redundant services.

(c)(1) The department, in consultation with the council and such other state agencies as it deems appropriate, shall establish and maintain a statewide health plan. Such plan may include, but not be limited to:

(i) An assessment of the availability of acute hospital care, hospital emergency care, specialty hospital care, outpatient surgical care, home care and hospice agencies, primary care and clinic care, behavioral and mental healthcare, and substance abuse care and services;

(ii) An evaluation of the unmet needs of persons at risk and vulnerable populations as determined by the department and the council;

(iii) A projection of future demand for health services and institutional health services and the impact that technology may have on the demand, capacity, or need for such services; and

(iv) Recommendations for the expansion, reduction, or modification of healthcare facilities, health services, or institutional health services. The department, in consultation with healthcare providers, healthcare facilities, and the council, shall develop a process that requires, as a condition of licensure, that healthcare providers and healthcare facilities incorporate the state wide health plan into their long-range planning and shall facilitate communication between appropriate state agencies concerning innovations or changes that may affect future health planning. Information needed for the development of the state health plan shall be gathered through systematic methods designed to include local, regional, and statewide perspectives. The department, in conjunction with the council, shall update the statewide health plan not less than once every two (2) years.

(2) The state health plan shall identify:

(i) Major statewide health concerns;

(ii) The availability and use of current health resources of the state, including resources associated with information technology; capacity provided by existing healthcare physicians; and providers of service and institutions of higher education; and

(iii) Future health service, information technology, and facility needs of the state.

(3) The state health plan shall:

(i) Propose strategies for the correction of any deficiencies in the state health delivery system;

(ii) Propose strategies for incorporating information technology in the health service and institutional health service delivery system;

(iii) Propose strategies for involving state-supported institutions of higher education in providing health services and for coordinating those efforts with health and human services agencies; and

(iv) Provide proposals for the state's legislative and executive decision-making processes to consider implementing the strategies proposed by the plan.

(d)(1) For purposes of conducting the statewide healthcare utilization and capacity study and preparing the statewide health plan, and in order to identify the location, distribution, and nature of all healthcare resources in the state, the department shall establish and maintain an inventory of all healthcare facilities, health services, and institutional health services in the state and the equipment located in such healthcare facilities. The statewide inventory of all healthcare services and equipment shall also include, without limitation, current stock, anticipated need, and geographical distribution of health services and institutional health services throughout the state. The department and the council shall develop an inventory questionnaire to obtain, at a minimum, the following information:

(i) The name and location of the healthcare provider and healthcare facility;

(ii) The type of facility;

(iii) The hours of operation;

(iv) The type of services provided at that location including, but not limited to, translation and transportation services;

(v) The total number of clients, the race, ethnicity and primary language spoken in the home of the clients, treatments, patient visits, procedures performed, or scans performed in a calendar year;

(vi) The total number of the uninsured population in the state; and

(vii) Such other information as the department deems appropriate. The inventory shall be completed biennially by healthcare facilities and healthcare providers, and such healthcare facilities and healthcare providers shall not provide patient-specific data.

(2) The inventory and all related information shall be maintained in a form usable by the general public in a designated office of the department, shall constitute a public record, and shall be coordinated with information collected by the department and the council under other provisions of law; provided, however, that any item of information that is confidential or privileged in nature shall not be regarded as a public record under this section or the general laws.

(e) The department and the council shall publish analyses, reports, and interpretations of information collected under this section in order to further public knowledge concerning the distribution and nature of health services and institutional health services in the state. The department may require healthcare providers and healthcare facilities to provide information for the purposes of this section and may prescribe, by regulation, uniform reporting requirements. In prescribing such regulations, the department shall strive to make any reports required under this section of mutual benefit to those providing, as well as those using, such information and shall avoid placing any burdens on such providers that are not reasonably necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section.

(f) Agencies of the state that collect cost or other data concerning health services and institutional health services shall cooperate with the department in coordinating such data with information collected under this section.

(g) In the performance of its duties under this section, the department, subject to appropriation, may enter into such contracts with agencies of the federal government, the state or its political subdivisions, and public or private bodies, as it deems necessary.

(h) The department shall provide a progress report on health care inventory and statewide health plan no later than February 2015.

History of Section. (P.L. 2014, ch. 267, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 316, § 1.)