Senate Bill 2666

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-7-205, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PROVIDE AN EXPEDITED NONSUBSTANTIVE REVIEW FOR THE TRANSFER OF A CERTIFICATE OF NEED FOR CHILD/ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIC BEDS OR PSYCHIATRIC RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITY BEDS FROM ONE COUNTY TO ANOTHER COUNTY WHERE THERE HAS BEEN NO SIGNIFICANT COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE BEDS ORIGINALLY AUTHORIZED FOR A PERIOD OF AT LEAST 5 YEARS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 41-7-205, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

41-7-205. The State Department of Health shall provide an expedited review for those projects which it determines to warrant such action. All requests for such an expedited review by the applicant must be made in writing to the State Department of Health. The State Department of Health shall make a determination as to whether expedited review is appropriate within fifteen (15) days after receipt of a written request. The State Department of Health shall render its decision concerning the issuance of a certificate of need within ninety (90) days after the receipt of a completed application. A project is subject to expedited review only if it meets one (1) of the following criteria:

(a) A transfer or change of ownership of a health care facility wherein the facility continues to operate under the same category of license or permit as it possessed prior to the date of the proposed change of ownership and none of the other activities described in Section 41-7-191(1) take place in conjunction with such transfer;

(b) Replacement of equipment with used equipment of similar capability if the equipment is included in the facility's annual capital expenditure budget or plan;

(c) A request for project cost overruns that exceed the rate of inflation as determined by the State Department of Health;

(d) A request for relocation of services or facilities if the relocation of such services or facilities (i) involves a capital expenditure by or on behalf of a health care facility, or (ii) is more than one thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) feet from the main entrance of the health care facility or the facility where the service is located;

(e) A request for a certificate of need to comply with duly recognized fire, building, or life safety codes, or to comply with state licensure standards or accreditation standards required for reimbursements;

(f) A request for the transfer or change of ownership of a certificate of need for psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF) beds or child/adolescent psychiatric beds from a location in one county to a location in another county, wherein there has been no significant commencement of construction of the beds authorized under the original certificate of need for a period of at least five (5) years from the date of issuance.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.