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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>77111</law_id><section_number>32.1-102.1</section_number><catch_line>Definitions</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>23.1-2412</reference><reference>32.1-102.2</reference><reference>32.1-125.3</reference><reference>32.1-126.1</reference><reference>32.1-126.3</reference><reference>32.1-276.5</reference><reference>54.1-2400.6</reference><reference>54.1-2937.1</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="32.1">Health</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="4">Health Care Planning</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="1.1">Medical Care Facilities Certificate of Public Need</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>As used in this article, unless the context indicates otherwise:
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Application</span>&#x201D; means a prescribed format for the presentation of data and information deemed necessary by the <span class="dictionary">Board</span> to determine a public need for a <span class="dictionary">project</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Bad debt</span>&#x201D; means revenue amounts deemed uncollectable as determined after collection efforts based upon sound credit and collection policies.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Certificate</span>&#x201D; means a <span class="dictionary">certificate</span> of public need for a <span class="dictionary">project</span> required by this article.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Charity care</span>&#x201D; means health care services delivered to a patient who has a family income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and for which it was determined that no payment was expected (i) at the time the service was provided because the patient met the facility&#x2019;s criteria for the provision of care without charge due to the patient&#x2019;s status as an <span class="dictionary">indigent</span> <span class="dictionary">person</span> or (ii) at some time following the time the service was provided because the patient met the facility&#x2019;s criteria for the provision of care without charge due to the patient&#x2019;s status as an <span class="dictionary">indigent</span> <span class="dictionary">person</span>. &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Charity care</span>&#x201D; does not include care provided for a fee subsequently deemed uncollectable as <span class="dictionary">bad debt</span>. For a nursing home as defined in &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="(Effective January 1, 2026) Definitions" href="/32.1-123/">32.1-123</a>, &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">charity care</span>&#x201D; means care at a reduced rate to <span class="dictionary">indigent</span> <span class="dictionary">persons</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Clinical health service</span>&#x201D; means a single diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, preventive or palliative procedure or a series of such procedures that may be separately identified for billing and accounting purposes.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Health planning region</span>&#x201D; means a contiguous geographical area of the Commonwealth with a population base of at least 500,000 <span class="dictionary">persons</span> which is characterized by the availability of multiple levels of medical care services, reasonable travel time for tertiary care, and congruence with planning districts.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Project</span>&#x201D; means any action described in subsection B of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="(Effective July 1, 2028) Medical care facilities and projects for which a certificate is required" href="/32.1-102.1_3/">32.1-102.1:3</a>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Regional health planning agency</span>&#x201D; means the regional agency, including the regional health planning <span class="dictionary">board</span>, its staff and any component thereof, designated by the Virginia Health Planning <span class="dictionary">Board</span> to perform the health planning activities set forth in this chapter within a <span class="dictionary">health planning region</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">State Health Services Plan</span>&#x201D; means the planning document adopted by the <span class="dictionary">Board</span> of Health which shall include, but not be limited to, (i) methodologies for projecting need for each type of <span class="dictionary">medical care facility</span> described in subsection A of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="(Effective July 1, 2028) Medical care facilities and projects for which a certificate is required" href="/32.1-102.1_3/">32.1-102.1:3</a> and each type of <span class="dictionary">project</span> described in subsection B of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="(Effective July 1, 2028) Medical care facilities and projects for which a certificate is required" href="/32.1-102.1_3/">32.1-102.1:3</a>; (ii) statistical information on the availability of each type of <span class="dictionary">medical care facility</span> described in subsection A of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="(Effective July 1, 2028) Medical care facilities and projects for which a certificate is required" href="/32.1-102.1_3/">32.1-102.1:3</a> and each type of <span class="dictionary">project</span> described in subsection B of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="(Effective July 1, 2028) Medical care facilities and projects for which a certificate is required" href="/32.1-102.1_3/">32.1-102.1:3</a>; and (iii) procedures, criteria, and standards for review of <span class="dictionary">applications</span> for <span class="dictionary">projects</span> for each type of <span class="dictionary">medical care facility</span> described in subsection A of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="(Effective July 1, 2028) Medical care facilities and projects for which a certificate is required" href="/32.1-102.1_3/">32.1-102.1:3</a> and each type of <span class="dictionary">project</span> described in subsection B of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="(Effective July 1, 2028) Medical care facilities and projects for which a certificate is required" href="/32.1-102.1_3/">32.1-102.1:3</a>.</p></section></text><history>1982, c. 388; 1983, c. 533; 1984, c. 740; 1985, c. 513; 1989, c. 517; 1991, c. 561; 1992, c. 612; 1993, c. 704; 1995, c. 524; 1996, c. 1050; 1997, c. 600; 1998, c. 289; 1999, cc. 899, 920, 922; 2000, cc. 850, 920; 2004, c. 75; 2007, c. 502; 2008, c. 664; 2009, cc. 67, 175, 813, 840; 2011, cc. 92, 150; 2012, cc. 476, 492, 507, 803, 835; 2015, cc. 541, 542, 651; 2017, cc. 458, 791; 2020, c. 1271.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
