Bill > S648

This bill amends Section 8A of Chapter 118E of the General Laws, which deals with Health Care Financing, by redefining what constitutes a "Sole community provider." Previously, this definition was removed, and now the bill proposes to reinsert it with specific criteria. A Sole community provider will now be defined as an acute hospital that meets the requirements for such a designation under federal Medicare regulations or under regulations created by the executive office. These executive office regulations will take into account various factors, such as a hospital's isolated location, difficult weather or travel conditions, the proportion of care it provides to Medicare, Medicaid, and uninsured patients, and the lack of other easily accessible hospitals nearby. Specifically, the bill includes a provision that hospitals located more than 20 miles driving distance from other hospitals in the state and that serve at least 60 percent of their primary service area will be considered Sole community providers.