§ 23-15-2 - Definitions.
SECTION 23-15-2
§ 23-15-2 Definitions. – As used in this chapter:
(1) "Affected person" means and includes the person whoseproposal is being reviewed, or the applicant, health care facilities locatedwithin the state which provide institutional health services, the state medicalsociety, the state osteopathic society, those voluntary nonprofit area-wideplanning agencies that may be established in the state, the state budgetoffice, the office of health insurance commissioner, any hospital or medicalservice corporation organized under the laws of the state, the statewide healthcoordinating council, contiguous health systems agencies, and those members ofthe public who are to be served by the proposed new institutional healthservices or new health care equipment.
(2) "Cost impact analysis" means a written analysis of theeffect that a proposal to offer or develop new institutional health services ornew health care equipment, if approved, will have on health care costs andshall include any detail that may be prescribed by the state agency in rulesand regulations.
(3) "Director" means the director of the Rhode Island statedepartment of health.
(4) "Health care facility" means any institutional healthservice provider, facility or institution, place, building, agency, or portionof them, whether a partnership or corporation, whether public or private,whether organized for profit or not, used, operated, or engaged in providinghealth care services, which are limited to hospitals, nursing facilities,inpatient rehabilitation centers (including drug and/or alcohol abuse treatmentcenters), certain facilities providing surgical treatment to patients notrequiring hospitalization (surgi-centers, multi-practice physician ambulatorysurgery centers and multi-practice podiatry ambulatory surgery centers) andfacilities providing inpatient hospice care. Single-practice physician orpodiatry ambulatory surgery centers (as defined in subdivisions 23-17-2(13) and23-17-2(14), respectively) are exempt from the requirements of chapter 15 ofthis title; provided, however, that such exemption shall not apply if asingle-practice physician or podiatry ambulatory surgery center isestablished by a medical practice group (as defined in § 5-37-1) withintwo (2) years following the formation of such medical practice group, whensuch medical practice group is formed by the merger or consolidation of two(2) or more medical practice groups or the acquisition of one medicalpractice group by another medical practice group. The term "health carefacility" does not include Christian Science institutions (also known asChristian Science nursing facilities) listed and certified by the Commissionfor Accreditation of Christian Science Nursing Organizations/Facilities, Inc.
(ii) Any provider of hospice care who provides hospice carewithout charge shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
(5) "Health care provider" means a person who is a directprovider of health care services (including but not limited to physicians,dentists, nurses, podiatrists, physician assistants, or nurse practitioners) inthat the person's primary current activity is the provision of health careservices for persons.
(6) "Health services" means organized program components forpreventive, assessment, maintenance, diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitativeservices provided in a health care facility.
(7) "Health services council" means the advisory body to theRhode Island state department of health established in accordance with chapter17 of this title, appointed and empowered as provided to serve as the advisorybody to the state agency in its review functions under this chapter.
(8) "Institutional health services" means health servicesprovided in or through health care facilities and includes the entities in orthrough which the services are provided.
(9) "New health care equipment" means any single piece ofmedical equipment (and any components which constitute operational componentsof the piece of medical equipment) proposed to be utilized in conjunction withthe provision of services to patients or the public, the capital costs of whichwould exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000); provided, however, that thestate agency shall exempt from review any application which proposes one forone equipment replacement as defined in regulation.
(10) "New institutional health services" means and includes:
(i) Construction, development, or other establishment of anew health care facility.
(ii) Any expenditure except acquisitions of an existinghealth care facility which will not result in a change in the services or bedcapacity of the health care facility by or on behalf of an existing health carefacility in excess of two million dollars ($2,000,000) which is a capitalexpenditure including expenditures for predevelopment activities.
(iii) Where a person makes an acquisition by or on behalf ofa health care facility or health maintenance organization under lease orcomparable arrangement or through donation, which would have required review ifthe acquisition had been by purchase, the acquisition shall be deemed a capitalexpenditure subject to review.
(iv) Any capital expenditure which results in the addition ofa health service or which changes the bed capacity of a health care facilitywith respect to which the expenditure is made, except that the state agency mayexempt from review by rules and regulations promulgated for this chapter anybed reclassifications made to licensed nursing facilities and annual increasesin licensed bed capacities of nursing facilities that do not exceed the greaterof ten (10) beds or ten percent (10%) of facility licensed bed capacity and forwhich the related capital expenditure does not exceed two million dollars($2,000,000).
(v) Any health service proposed to be offered to patients orthe public by a health care facility which was not offered on a regular basisin or through the facility within the twelve (12) month period prior to thetime the service would be offered, and which increases operating expenses bymore than seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($750,000), except that thestate agency may exempt from review by rules and regulations promulgated forthis chapter any health service involving reclassification of bed capacity madeto licensed nursing facilities.
(vi) Any new or expanded tertiary or specialty care service,regardless of capital expense or operating expense, as defined by and listed inregulation, the list not to exceed a total of twelve (12) categories ofservices at any one time and shall include full body magnetic resonanceimaging and computerized axial tomography; provided, however, that the stateagency shall exempt from review any application which proposes one for oneequipment replacement as defined by and listed in regulation. Acquisition offull body magnetic resonance imaging and computerized axial tomography shallnot require a certificate of need review and approval by the state agency ifsatisfactory evidence is provided to the state agency that it was acquired forunder one million dollars ($1,000,000) on or before January 1, 2010 and wasin operation on or before July 1, 2010.
(11) "Person" means any individual, trust or estate,partnership, corporation (including associations, joint stock companies, andinsurance companies), state or political subdivision, or instrumentality of astate.
(12) "Predevelopment activities" means expenditures forarchitectural designs, plans, working drawings and specifications, siteacquisition, professional consultations, preliminary plans, studies, andsurveys made in preparation for the offering of a new institutional healthservice.
(13) "State agency" means the Rhode Island state departmentof health.
(14) "To develop" means to undertake those activities which,on their completion, will result in the offering of a new institutional healthservice or new health care equipment or the incurring of a financialobligation, in relation to the offering of that service.
(15) "To offer" means to hold oneself out as capable ofproviding, or as having the means for the provision of, specified healthservices or health care equipment.