An Act To Prevent Duplication in Certification of Hospitals

Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1816,  as amended by PL 1997, c. 488, §2, is further amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:

A hospital licensed under this chapter is exempt from department inspection requirements under this chapter if the hospital is certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for participation in the federal Medicare program and holds full accreditation status by a health care facility accrediting organization recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If a hospital is certified to participate in the federal Medicare program and not accredited by a health care facility accrediting organization recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the department shall inspect the hospital every 3 years for compliance with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' conditions of participation. The provisions of this paragraph do not exempt a hospital from an inspection by the department in response to a complaint or suspected violation of this chapter or of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' conditions of participation or an inspection by another state agency or municipality for building code, fire code, life safety code or other purposes unrelated to health care facility licensing or accreditation. For purposes of this paragraph, "Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services" means the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Sec. 2. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2008.