A bill introduced by Del. Kathy Byron (R-Campbell County), HB 2101, would amend the definition of “charity care” used in the context of certificate of public need (COPN).  The bill has cleared the House of Delegates and awaits final consideration in the Senate.  It includes a separate definition of charity care to be applied to nursing centers that recognizes the unique patient mix for whom they care.

The bill would establish a uniform framework for determining the value of charity care provided, and requires health care providers to report data on the total amount of charity care it provides, the number of patients to whom charity care is provided, the specific services delivered to patients that are reported as charity care, and the portion of the total amount of charity care provided that each service represents.  Additionally, the Commissioner of Health is directed to report and analyze data on the current state of charity care utilization to the appropriate legislative committee chairs.  If signed by the governor, the reporting and conditioning requirements of the legislation will go into effect on July 1, 2019.