ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 550
(By Senators Prezioso, Foster, Hunter and Jenkins)
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[Introduced March 15, 2005; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §16-5B-14, relating
to designation of rural hospitals for purposes of the Critical
Access Hospital Program.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §16-5B-14, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 5B. HOSPITALS AND SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS.
§16-5B-14. The Critical Access Hospital Designation Act.
A hospital located in an urban area (Metropolitan Statistical
Areas (MSA) County), can be considered "rural" for the purposes of
the Secretary designating a Critical Access Hospital pursuant to Section 1820(c2) of the Social Security Act if it meets the
following criteria:
(1) Is enrolled as both a Medicaid and Medicare provider and
accepts assignment for all Medicaid and Medicare patients;
(2) Provides emergency health care services to indigent
patients;
(3) Maintains 24-hour emergency services; and
(4) Is located in a county with fifty percent or more rural
residents, as defined by the most recent United States decennial
census.