READ FIRST TIME 01/31/12.   

     AN ACT Relating to community benefits provided by hospitals; and adding a new section to chapter 70.41 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 70.41 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) As of January 1, 2013, each hospital that is recognized by the internal revenue service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity must make its federally required community health needs assessment widely available to the public within fifteen days of submission to the internal revenue service. Following completion of the initial community health needs assessment, each hospital in accordance with the internal revenue service, shall complete and make widely available to the public an assessment once every three years.
     (2) Unless contained in the community health needs assessment under subsection (1) of this section, a hospital subject to the requirements under subsection (1) of this section shall make public a description of the community served by the hospital, including both a geographic description and a description of the general population served by the hospital; and demographic information such as leading causes of death, levels of chronic illness, and descriptions of the medically underserved, low-income, and minority, or chronically ill populations in the community.
     (3)(a) Each hospital subject to the requirements of subsection (1) of this section shall make widely available to the public a community benefit implementation strategy within one year of completing its community health needs assessment. In developing the implementation strategy, hospitals shall consult with community-based organizations and stakeholders, and local public health jurisdictions, as well as any additional consultations the hospital decides to undertake. Unless contained in the implementation strategy under this subsection (3)(a), the hospital must provide a brief explanation for not accepting recommendations for community benefit proposals identified in the assessment through the stakeholder consultation process, such as excessive expense to implement or infeasibility of implementation of the proposal.
     (b) Implementation strategies must be evidence-based, when available; or development and implementation of innovative programs and practices should be supported by evaluation measures.
     (4) For the purposes of this section, the term "widely available to the public" has the same meaning as in the internal revenue service guidelines.