SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1884        FILED ON: 1/14/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 894

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act relative to specialty health care providers..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 1. Chapter 111, section 25B shall be amended as follows:

Insert within the definition of “health care facility” the following: “specialty health care providers as defined herein,”;

Section 2. Insert the following new definition:

“Specialty health care provider,” any entity including a physician practice providing outpatient services typically provided in a hospital setting, including but not limited to: (1) an entity providing anesthesia, conscious sedation and/or diagnostic injection services (including endoscopy services and excluding dental facilities); (ii) an entity employing major medical, diagnostic and/or therapeutic equipment, including but not limited to equipment defined as new technology or as providing an innovative service, pursuant to chapter 111, section 25B and excluding x-ray equipment; and (iii) which is not a hospital, ambulatory surgical center or community health center. The department shall promulgate regulations with respect to the classification of specialty health care providers.”;

Section 3.  Insert within the definition of “expenditure minimum with respect to substantial capital expenditures,” after the clause “other than ambulatory surgery”, the following:

“or other than expenditures with respect to a specialty health care provider.”; and

Section 4.  Chapter 111 of the general Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 53G, as added by section 11 of chapter 305 of the acts of 2008, the following:

Notwithstanding any general or special law or regulation to the contrary, any specialty health care provider shall be a clinic for the purpose of licensure under section 51 and no original license shall be issued pursuant to said section 51 to establish any such specialty health care provider clinic unless there is a determination by the department that there is a need for such a facility. The department shall promulgate regulations to implement this section, including with respect to the classification and grandfathering of existing specialty health care providers.”