WEST virginia legislature
2020 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 767
By Senators Maroney, Tarr, and Roberts
[Introduced February 13,
2020; referred
to the Committee on Health and Human Resources]
A BILL to repeal §16-5B-6a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §16-5B-5a of said code, relating to the licensure of hospitals; allowing hospitals to use other accrediting organizations which have been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and eliminating hospital board composition requirements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 5B. HOSPITALS AND SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS.
§16-5B-5a. Accreditation reports accepted for periodic license inspections.
Notwithstanding any other
provision of this article, a periodic license inspection shall not be conducted
by the state Department of Health and Human Resources for a hospital if
the hospital has applied for and received an exemption from that requirement: Provided,
That no exemption granted diminishes the right of the state Department
of Health and Human Resources to conduct complaint inspections. Provided,
however, That no exemption granted relieves a hospital from
compliance with section six-a of this article
The state Department
of Health and Human Resources shall grant an exemption from a periodic license
inspection during the year following accreditation if a hospital applies by
submitting evidence of its accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation
of Health Care Organizations or the American Osteopathic Association, or any
accrediting organization approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, and submits a complete copy of the commission’s accrediting
organization’s accreditation report.
If the accreditation of a
hospital is for a period longer than one year, the state Department of
Health and Human Resources may conduct at least one license inspection of the
hospital after the first year of accreditation and before the accreditation has
expired and may conduct additional license inspections if needed. Hospitals
receiving a three-year accreditation shall conduct annual self-evaluations
using the current year accreditation manual for hospitals unless the state Department
of Health and Human Resources informs the hospital that the hospital will be
inspected by the state Department of Health and Human Resources.
Hospitals are not required to conduct self-evaluations for any calendar year
during which they are inspected by the state Department of Health and
Human Resources. These self-evaluations shall be completed and placed on file
in the hospital by the thirty-first day of March 31 of each year.
Hospitals shall make the results of the self-evaluation available to the state
Department of Health and Human Resources if requested.
Accreditation reports filed
with the state Department of Health and Human Resources shall be treated
as confidential in accordance with §16-5B-10 of this code.
§16-5B-6a. Consumer majorities on hospital boards of directors.
[Repealed.]
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allowing hospitals to use other accrediting organizations that have been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The bill eliminates hospital board composition requirements.
§16-5B-6a is repealed.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.