Senate Bill No. 380
(By Senator Craigo)
____________
[Introduced February 2, 2000; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
____________
A BILL to amend article five-b, chapter sixteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section eight-a,
relating to hospitals and similar institutions; and
prohibiting those institutions from engaging in any other
business activity, directly or indirectly, that is not related
to health care.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five-b, chapter sixteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eight-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5B. HOSPITALS AND SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS.
§16-5B-8a. Hospitals and similar institutions prohibited from
engaging in commercial activities unrelated to
health care.
(a) Any hospital, or other similar institution, required to be
licensed under this article, may not engage, either directly or
indirectly through subsidiary corporations or other entities, in
any commercial activities or retail activities or businesses or
developments that are unrelated to health care. The secretary of
the department of health and human resources shall propose rules
for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The director
shall enforce rules established by the secretary that are not in
conflict with any provision of this article, as it finds necessary,
or in the public interest, in order to enforce the provisions of
this section.
(b) Any hospital, or other similar institution that violates
the provisions of this section, is guilty of conduct and activities
justifying suspension or revocation of its license.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit hospitals from
engaging in any other business activity, directly or indirectly, that is not related to health care.
§16-5B-8a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.