Bill > HB1552

This bill modifies regulations for critical access hospitals in Virginia regarding their use of swing beds, which are hospital beds that can be used flexibly to provide skilled nursing care. Currently, hospitals are limited to using up to 10 percent of their beds as swing beds, but this bill allows critical access hospitals to use an average of up to 10 swing beds per day when calculated over their fiscal year. The bill includes several important provisions: the hospital must make a good faith effort to place patients in certified nursing facilities before exceeding the 10-bed limit, they cannot have more than 15 swing beds per day for more than five consecutive days, and if they exceed the average in a fiscal year, they have one year to reduce their swing bed usage. Additionally, the State Commissioner of Health is required to collect and publicly share annual data from critical access hospitals using this fiscal year averaging method. The bill includes a sunset provision, meaning these new provisions will expire on July 1, 2028, unless renewed. This change is intended to provide critical access hospitals, typically located in rural areas, with more flexibility in managing patient care and bed utilization.

Health and Social Services

https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/HB1552