SB17-064 Summary

• Creates a new "freestanding emergency department license" issued by the Department of Public Health and Environment on or after July 1, 2019, for independent emergency care facilities or hospital-operated facilities located off the main campus.

• Establishes a moratorium on new licenses from the effective date through June 30, 2019, except for facilities serving rural or underserved areas with limited emergency care access.

• Requires the State Board of Health to adopt rules by July 1, 2019, establishing licensure requirements, safety standards, staffing requirements (including board-certified emergency medicine physicians on-site), transfer protocols, and fee transparency requirements.

• Mandates existing freestanding emergency departments to provide claims and billing data to insurers, separately itemize facility fees, professional fees, and ancillary charges on patient bills, and post current facility fee schedules and insurance network information on their websites by December 31, 2019.

• Requires freestanding emergency departments to triage patients and bill urgent care services as urgent care rather than emergency care, with facility fees limited to reflect less comprehensive resources than emergency care.