AL HB601

Creates the Hospital Transformation and Innovation Fund in the State Treasury to support rural hospitals through grants funded by legislative appropriations and donations

Eligible hospitals include critical access hospitals, rural acute care hospitals, and other rural-designated facilities facing imminent closure, loss of essential services, or operational insolvency

Fund may be used for conversion to Rural Emergency Hospital designation, infrastructure upgrades, right-sizing of services, and expansion of telehealth and outpatient care models

Limits hospitals to one grant per year, with awards contingent on compliance with recovery milestones and submission of financial data and stabilization plans

Requires annual reporting from grant recipients on fund usage, service levels, quality indicators, and financial performance, with the Alabama Department of Public Health publishing an annual impact report to the Legislature; effective October 1, 2026