SB45,1129,17 CHAPTER 150

SB45,1129,19 SUBCHAPTER IX HEALTH CARE ENTITY OVERSIGHT AND TRANSPARENCY

SB45,2207 Section 2207. 150.99 of the statutes is created to read:

SB45,1129,21 150.99 Definitions. In this subchapter:

SB45,1130,3 (1) “Acquisition” means the direct or indirect purchase, including lease, transfer, exchange, option, receipt of a conveyance, or creation of a joint venture, or any other manner of purchase, such as by a health care system, private equity group, hedge fund, publicly traded company, real estate investment trust, management services organization, insurance carrier, or any subsidiaries thereof, of a material amount of the assets or operations of a health care entity.

SB45,1130,4 (2) “Affiliate” means any of the following:

SB45,1130,7 (a) A person, entity, or organization that directly, indirectly, or through one or more intermediaries controls, is controlled by, or is under common control or ownership of another person, entity, or organization.

SB45,1130,11 (b) A person whose business is operated under a lease, management, or operating agreement by another entity, or a person substantially all of whose property is operated under a management or operating agreement with that other entity.

SB45,1130,13 (c) An entity that operates the business or substantially all the property of another entity under a lease, management, or operating agreement.

SB45,1130,16 (d) Any out-of-state operations and corporate affiliates of an affiliate as defined in pars. (a) to (c), including significant equity investors, health care real estate investment trusts, or management services organizations.

SB45,1130,21 (3) “Arrangement” includes any agreement, association, partnership, joint venture, management services agreement, professional services agreement, health care staffing company agreement, or other arrangement that results in a change of governance or control of a health care entity or a department, subdivision, or subsidiary of a health care entity.

SB45,1130,24 (4) “Change of control” means an arrangement in which any person, corporation, partnership, or any entity acquires direct or indirect control over the operations of a health care entity in whole or in substantial part.

SB45,1131,3 (5) “Control,” “controlling,” “controlled by,” and “under common control with” means the direct or indirect power through ownership, contractual agreement, or otherwise to do any of the following:

SB45,1131,5 (a) Vote 10 percent or more of any class of voting shares or interests of a health care entity.

SB45,1131,6 (b) Direct the actions or policies of the specified entity.

SB45,1131,13 (6) “Health care facility” means an institution that provides health care services or a health care setting, including hospitals and other inpatient facilities, health systems consisting of one or more health care entities that are jointly owned or managed, ambulatory surgical or treatment centers, skilled nursing facilities, residential treatment centers, diagnostic, laboratory, and imaging centers, freestanding emergency facilities, outpatient clinics, and rehabilitation and other therapeutic health settings.

SB45,1131,16 (7) “Health care provider” means any person, corporation, partnership, governmental unit, state institution, medical practice, or other entity that performs or provides health care services to persons in the state.

SB45,1131,19 (8) “Health care services” means services and payments for the care, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, cure, or relief of a medical, dental, or behavioral health condition, illness, injury, or disease, including any of the following:

SB45,1131,22 (a) Inpatient, outpatient, habilitative, rehabilitative, dental, palliative, therapeutic, supportive, home health, or behavioral services provided by a health care entity.

SB45,1131,24 (b) Pharmacy, retail, and specialty, including any drug, device, or medical supply.

SB45,1132,1 (c) Performance of functions to refer, arrange, or coordinate care.

SB45,1132,3 (d) Equipment used such as durable medical equipment, diagnostic, surgical devices, or infusion.

SB45,1132,6 (e) Technology associated with the provision of services or equipment in pars. (a) to (d) above, such as telehealth, electronic health records, software, claims processing, or utilization systems.

SB45,1132,12 (9) “Health care staffing company” means a person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other business entity engaged in the business of providing or procuring, for temporary employment or contracting by a health care facility, any health care personnel, but does not include an individual who independently provides the individual’s own services on a temporary basis to health care facilities as an employee or contractor.

SB45,1132,15 (10) “Licensee” means an individual who is licensed in the state as a physician, a doctor of osteopathy, or a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner who is authorized to diagnose and treat in the applicable clinical setting.

SB45,1132,19 (11) “Management services organization” means any organization or entity that contracts with a health care provider or provider organization to perform management or administrative services relating to, supporting, or facilitating the provision of health care services.

SB45,1132,23 (12) “Medical practice” means a corporate entity or partnership organized for the purpose of practicing medicine and permitted to practice medicine in the state, including partnerships, professional corporations, limited liability companies, and limited liability partnerships.

SB45,1133,7 (13) “Noncompetition agreement” means a written agreement between a licensee and another person under which the licensee agrees that the licensee, either alone or as an employee, associate, or affiliate of a third person, will not compete with the other person in providing products, processes, or services that are similar to the other person’s products, processes, or services for a period of time or within a specified geographic area after termination of employment or termination of a contract under which the licensee supplied goods to or performed services for the other person.

SB45,1133,12 (14) “Nondisclosure agreement” means a written agreement under the terms of which a licensee must refrain from disclosing partially, fully, directly, or indirectly to any person, other than another party to the written agreement or to a person specified in the agreement as a 3rd-party beneficiary of the agreement, any of the following: