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OD0412
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It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows

SECTION 1. Sections 23-17-6, 23-17-14.4 and 23-17-43 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-17 entitled "Licensing of Health Care Facilities" are hereby amended to read as follows:

23-17-6. Issuance of license -- Posting -- Transfer -- Conditions. -- (a) Upon receipt of an application for a license, the licensing agency shall issue a license if the applicant and health care facility meet the requirements established under this chapter and such rules and regulations as may be established in accordance therewith. A license issued hereunder shall be the property of the state and loaned to the licensee, and it shall be kept posted in a conspicuous place on the licensed premises. Each license shall be issued only for the premises and persons named in the application, and shall not be transferable or assignable except with the written approval of the licensing agency.

(b) Any change in owner, operator, or lessee of a licensed health care facility shall require prior review by the health services council and approval of the licensing agency as a condition precedent to the transfer, assignment, or issuance of a new license. {ADD Initial and annual renewal issuance ADD}{DEL Issuance DEL} of the license may be made subject to any condition; provided that no condition may be made unless it directly relates to the statutory purpose expressed in section 23-17-3 or to the review criteria set forth in section 23-17-14.3. This shall not limit the authority of the licensing agency to require correction of conditions or defects which existed prior to the proposed change of owner, operator, or lessee and of which notice had been given to the health care facility by the licensing agency.

{ADD (c) Upon application, a currently licensed home health agency shall be allowed to provide hospice care if the program of hospice care provided by the licensee conforms to the licensing agency's rules and regulations concerning hospice care. ADD}

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.

{ADD The licensing agency and the health services council shall hold a public hearing on all initial and change in owner applications for hospital licensure. All application material shall be accessible to the public for review and comment. ADD}

(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 {DEL . DEL} {ADD , provided however, that, when a public hearing is required pursuant to subsection (a) herein the recommendations of the health service council and the decision of the licensing agency shall be rendered within ninety (90) days of the conclusion of the public hearing. ADD}

(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: (i) that the licensure application is solely for initial licensure; (ii) 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 (iii) that the licensure application demonstrates complete and satisfactory compliance with review criteria in section 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 therefrom.

(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 23-15, shall be exempt from the requirements of sections 23-17-14.3 or 23-17-14.4 of this chapter for initial facility licensure.

23-17-43. Charity care requirements. -- {DEL Any new DEL} {ADD All ADD} hospital {DEL licensee DEL} licensee{ADDs ADD} shall meet the statewide community standard for the provision of charity care services as a condition of initial and continued licensure. Such standard {ADD shall be established in regulation by the director after consultation with the director of human services and public hearing and, to the extent practical, shall ADD} be consistent with guidelines established by the legislature in the charters of the existing hospitals in the state which hold charters from the legislature.

{ADD Further, in order to assure the means for meeting the community standard, the director is authorized to require any hospital meet its charity care requirements through a formal plan furnished to the director and to the director of human services on an annual basis. ADD}

SECTION 2. Chapter 23-17 of the General Laws entitled "Licensing of Health Care Facilities" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

{ADD 23-17-46. Acceptance of state funded individuals. -- ADD} {ADD All hospitals licensed under this chapter shall be required to accept and treat, consistent with the hospital's clinical services capabilities, all individuals who are recipients of public assistance funded in whole or in part by the state of Rhode Island. ADD}

SECTION 3. Section 38-2-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 38-2 entitled "Access to Public Records" is hereby amended to read as follows:

38-2-2. Definitions. -- As used in this chapter:

(a) "Agency" or "public body" shall mean any executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory, administrative body of the state or any political subdivision thereof; including, but not limited to any department, division, agency, commission, board, office, bureau, authority, any school, fire, or water district, or other agency of Rhode Island state or local government which exercises governmental functions, or any other public or private agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on behalf of any public agency.

(b) "Public business" means any matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power.

(c) "Supervisor of the regulatory body" means the chief or head of a section having enforcement responsibility for a particular statute or set of rules and regulations within a regulatory agency.

(d) "Public record" or "public records" shall mean all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, or other material regardless of physical form or characteristics made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any agency. For the purposes of this chapter, the following records shall not be deemed public:

(1) All records which are identifiable to an individual applicant for benefits, clients, patient, student, or employee; including, but not limited to, personnel, medical treatment, welfare, employment security, and pupil records and all records relating to a client/attorney relationship and to a doctor/patient relationship and all personal or medical information relating to an individual in any files, including information relating to medical or psychological facts, personal finances, welfare, employment security, student performance, or information in personnel files maintained to hire, evaluate, promote or discipline any employee of a public body; provided, however, with respect to employees, the name, gross salary, salary range, total cost of, paid fringe benefits, gross amount received in overtime and other remuneration in addition to salary, job title, job description, dates of employment and positions held with the state or municipality, work location, business telephone number, the city or town of residence, and date of termination shall be public.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, or any other provision of the general laws to the contrary, the pension records of all persons who are either current or retired members of the retirement systems established by the general laws as well as all persons who become members of said retirement systems after (June 17, 1991) shall be open for public inspection. "Pension records" as used in this section shall include all records containing information concerning pension and retirement benefits of current and retired members of the retirement systems established in title 8, title 36, title 42 and title 45 of the general laws and future members of said systems, including all records concerning retirement credits purchased and the ability of any member of the retirement system to purchase retirement credits, but excluding all information regarding the medical condition of any person and all information identifying the member's designated beneficiary or beneficiaries.

(2) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person, firm, or corporation, which is of a privileged or confidential nature.

(3) Child custody and adoption records, records of illegitimate births, and records of juvenile proceedings before the family court.

(4) All records maintained by law enforcement agencies for criminal law enforcement; and all records relating to the detection and investigation of crime, including those maintained on any individual or compiled in the course of a criminal investigation by any law enforcement agency but only to the extent that the disclosure of such records or information (a) could reasonably be expected to interfere with investigations of criminal activity or with enforcement proceedings, (b) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (c) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (d) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a state, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, or the information furnished by such a confidential source, (e) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions or (f) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual; provided, however, records relating to management and direction of a law enforcement agency and records reflecting the initial arrest of an adult and the charge or charges brought against an adult shall be public.

(5) Any records which would not be available by law or rule of court to an opposing party in litigation.

(6) Scientific and technological secrets and the security plans of military and law enforcement agencies, the disclosure of which would endanger the public welfare and security.

(7) Any records which disclose the identity of the contributor of a bona fide and lawful charitable contribution to the public body whenever public anonymity has been requested of the public body with respect to said contribution by the contributor.

(8) Reports and statements of strategy or negotiation involving labor negotiations or collective bargaining.

(9) Reports and statements of strategy or negotiation with respect to the investment or borrowing of public funds, until such time as those transactions are entered into.

(10) Any minutes of a meeting of a public body which are not required to be disclosed pursuant to chapter 46 of title 42.

(11) Preliminary drafts, notes, impressions, memoranda, working papers, and work products.

(12) Test questions, scoring keys and other examination data used to administer a licensing examination, examination for employment or promotion, or academic examinations; provided, however, that a person shall have the right to review the results of his or her examination.

(13) Correspondence of or to elected officials with or relating to those they represent, and correspondence of or to elected officials in their official capacities.

(14) The contents of real estate appraisals, engineering or feasibility estimates and evaluations made for or by an agency relative to the acquisition of property or to prospective public supply and construction contracts, until such time as all of the property has been acquired or all proceedings or transactions have been terminated or abandoned; provided the law of eminent domain shall not be affected by this provision.

(15) All tax returns.

(16) All investigatory records of public bodies pertaining to possible violations of statute, rule or regulation other than records of final actions taken provided that all records prior to formal notification of violations or noncompliance shall not be deemed to be public.

(17) Records of individual test scores on professional certification and licensing examinations; provided, however, that a person shall have the right to review the results of his or her examination.

(18) Requests for advisory opinions until such time as the public body issues its opinion.

(19) Records, reports, opinions, information, and statements required to be kept confidential by federal or state law, rule, rule of court, or regulation or by state statute.

(20) Judicial bodies are included in the definition only in respect to their administrative function provided that, records kept pursuant to the provisions of chapter 16 of title 8 are exempt from the operation of this chapter.

(21) Library records which, by themselves, or when examined with other public records, would reveal the identity of the library user requesting, checking out, or using any library materials.

(22) Printouts from telecommunication devices for the deaf or hearing and speech impaired.

(23) All records received by the Insurance Division of the Department of Business Regulation from other states, either directly or through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, if such records are accorded confidential treatment in that state. Nothing contained in this title or any other provision of law shall prevent or be construed as prohibiting the commissioner of insurance from disclosing otherwise confidential information to the Insurance Department of this or any other state or country, at any time, so long as such agency or office receiving the records agrees in writing to hold it confidential in a manner consistent with the laws of this state.

{ADD Further, nothing contained in this title or any other provision of law shall prevent or be construed as prohibiting the director of health from disclosing to the public otherwise confidential information required to be filed pursuant to section 23-17-6 of chapter 23-17 of the general laws in conjunction with an application by any entity or person for a change in owner of an existing hospital licensee. ADD}

However, any reasonably segregable portion as determined by the chief administrative officer of the public body of a public record excluded by this section shall be available for public inspections after the deletion of the information which is the basis of the exclusion, if disclosure of the segregable portion does not violate the intent of this section.

(e) "Chief administrative officer" means the highest authority of the public body as defined in subsection (a) of this section.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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OD0412
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This act would 1) require the Director of Health to hold a public hearing regarding any proposal which seeks to establish a licensed hospital; 2) clarify that any conditions placed upon the initial licensure of a hospital may be placed as conditions for the annual renewal of that entity's license; 3) permit the Director of Health to require a formal plan for the provision of charity care services by all hospitals; 4) require all hospitals to provide their services to medicaid recipients and 5) provide that all materials filed in conjunction with an application for hospital licensure are available to the public.

This act would take effect upon passage.