                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

STATE HEALTH SERVICES PLAN; TASK FORCE (§ 32.1-102.2:1)

A. The Board shall appoint and convene a State Health Services Plan Task Force
for the purpose of advising the Board on the content of the State Health
Services Plan. The Task Force shall provide recommendations related to (i)
periodic revisions to the State Health Services Plan, (ii) specific objective
standards of review for each type of medical care facility or project type for
which a certificate of public need is required, (iii) project types that are
generally noncontested and present limited health planning impacts, (iv) whether
certain projects should be subject to expedited review rather than the full
review process, and (v) improvements in the certificate of public need process.
All such recommendations shall be developed in accordance with an analytical
framework established by the Commissioner that includes a specific evaluation of
whether State Health Services Plan standards are consistent with the goals of
(a) meeting the health care needs of the indigent and uninsured citizens of the
Commonwealth, (b) protecting the public health and safety of the citizens of the
Commonwealth, (c) promoting the teaching missions of academic medical centers
and private teaching hospitals, and (d) ensuring the availability of essential
health care services in the Commonwealth, and are aligned with the goals and
metrics of the Commonwealth&#8217;s State Health Improvement Plan.

B. The Task Force shall consist of no fewer than 19 individuals appointed by the
Commissioner who are broadly representative of the interests of all residents of
the Commonwealth and of the various geographic regions, including two
representatives of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, the Medical
Society of Virginia, the Virginia Health Care Association, and physicians or
administrators representing teaching hospitals affiliated with a public
institution of higher education; one representative each of the Virginia
Association of Health Plans, the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable
Clinics, the Virginia Community Healthcare Association, LeadingAge Virginia, a
company that is self-insured or full-insured for health coverage, a nonprofit
organization located in the Commonwealth that engages in addressing access to
health coverage for low-income individuals, and a rural locality recognized as a
medically underserved area; one individual with experience in health facilities
planning; and such other individuals as the Commissioner determines is
appropriate.

C. The powers and duties of the Task Force shall be:

   1. To develop, by November 1, 2022, recommendations for a comprehensive State
   Health Services Plan for adoption by the Board that includes (i) specific
   formulas for projecting need for medical care facilities and services subject
   to the requirement to obtain a certificate of public need, (ii) current
   statistical information on the availability of medical care facilities and
   services, (iii) objective criteria and standards for review of applications
   for projects for medical care facilities and services, and (iv) methodologies
   for integrating the goals and metrics of the State Health Improvement Plan
   established by the Commissioner into the criteria and standards for review.
   Criteria and standards for review included in the State Health Services Plan
   shall take into account current data on drive times, utilization, availability
   of competing services, and patient choice within and among localities included
   in the health planning district or region; changes and availability of new
   technology; and other relevant factors identified by the Task Force. The State
   Health Services Plan shall also include specific criteria for determining need
   in rural areas, giving due consideration to distinct and unique geographic,
   socioeconomic, cultural, transportation, and other barriers to access to care
   in such areas and providing for weighted calculations of need based on the
   barriers to health care access in such rural areas in lieu of the
   determinations of need used for the particular proposed project within the
   relevant health planning district or region as a whole;

   2. To engage the services of private consultants or request the Department to
   contract with any private organization for professional and technical
   assistance and advice or other services to assist the Task Force in carrying
   out its duties and functions pursuant to this section. The Task Force may also
   solicit the input of experts with professional competence in the subject
   matter of the State Health Services Plan, including (i) representatives of
   licensed health care providers or health care provider organizations owning or
   operating licensed health facilities and (ii) representatives of organizations
   concerned with health care consumers and the purchasers and payers of health
   care services; and

   3. To review annually and, if necessary, develop recommendations for revisions
   to each section of the State Health Services Plan on a rotating schedule
   defined by the Task Force at least every two years following the last date of
   adoption by the Board.

D. The Task Force shall exercise its powers and carry out its duties to ensure:

   1. The availability and accessibility of quality health services at a
   reasonable cost and within a reasonable geographic proximity for all people in
   the Commonwealth, competitive markets, and patient choice;

   2. Appropriate differential consideration of the health care needs of
   residents in rural localities in ways that do not compromise the quality and
   affordability of health care services for those residents;

   3. Elimination of barriers to access to care and introduction and availability
   of new technologies and care delivery models that result in greater
   integration and coordination of care, reduction in costs, and improvements in
   quality; and

   4. Compliance with the goals of the State Health Services Plan and improvement
   in population health.

E. The Department shall post on its website information regarding the process by
which the State Health Services Plan is created and the process by which the
Department determines whether a proposed project complies with the State Health
Services Plan on its website.

HISTORY: 2008, c. 501; 2009, c. 175; 2020, c. 1271.