FINAL BILL REPORT

                 SHB 1024

                         C 210 L 97

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Shortening the notice time given by nursing homes to the department of health to convert beds back to nursing home beds.

Sponsors:  By House Committee on Health Care (originally sponsored by Representatives Dyer, Cody, Skinner, Sherstad, Thompson, Carlson, D. Sommers, Sterk, Huff, L. Thomas, Cooke, Dunn, Mielke, Clements and Backlund).

House Committee on Health Care

Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care

Background:  The certificate of need program is administered by the Department of Health as a cost containment program designed to ensure the construction, development, or acquisition of only those new health care facilities and services which promote access to high quality and needed care at reasonable costs.  Nursing homes are among the facilities covered under the certificate of need law.

A nursing home must obtain a certificate of need to increase the number of nursing home beds in the facility.  The law provides, however, that a nursing home may Abank@ or hold in reserve any current beds to use the space for other related purposes that enhance the quality of life for residents.

Generally, a one-year notice is required is required to restore Abanked@ beds.  If construction is required to restore the Abanked@ beds,  notice of intent to reconvert must be given to the department no later than two years prior to the modification.

An exemption from the requirement of a Certificate of Need is provided for Christian Science sanatoriums.

Summary: To convert >banked@ beds back to nursing home beds, a nursing home must give the Department of Health a notice of intent to restore the beds held in reserve at least 90 days prior to the modification.  If construction costing more than $1.2 million is required for the conversion of the beds back to nursing home beds, the notice of intent must be made at least one year prior to the modification.

The religious exemption from the requirement for a certificate of need is clarified by exempting any health facility or institution that relies exclusively upon treatment by prayer or spiritual means in accordance with the creed or tenets of any well-recognized church or religious denomination, or that is operated for the care of clergy.

Votes on Final Passage:

House960

Senate470

Effective:July 27, 1997