Subpart G--Community Service Assurance Provisions of the Hill-Burton Act

Subpart G - Community Service

AUTHORITY: Sec. 215, 1525, 1602(6), Public Health Service Act as amended; 58 Stat 690, 88 Stat. 2249, 2259; 42 U.S.C. 216, 300m- 4, 300o-1(6).

SOURCE: 44 FR 29379, May 18, 1979, unless otherwise noted.

§124.601 Applicability.

The provisions of this subpart apply to any recipient of Federal assistance under Title VI or XVI of the Public Health Service Act that has given an assurance that it would make the facility or portion thereof assisted available to all persons residing (and, in the case of Title XVI assisted applicants, employed), in the territorial area it serves. This assurance is referred to in this subpart as the "community service assurance."

§124.602 Definitions.

As used in this subpart: "
Act" means the Public Health Service Act, as amended. "
Facility" means the an entity that received assistance under Title VI or Title XVI of the Act and provided a community service assurance. "
Fiscal year " means facility's fiscal year. "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health and Human Services or his delegatee. "
Service area" means the geographic area designated as the area served by the facility in the most recent State plan approved by the Secretary under Title VI, except that, at the request of the facility, the Secretary may designate a different area proposed by the facility when he determines that a different area is appropriate based on the criteria in 42 CFR 53.1 (d). "
State agency" means the agency of a state fully or conditionally designated by the Secretary as the State health planning and development agency of the State under section 1521 of the Act.

§124.603 Provision of services.

(a) General. (1) In order to comply with its community service assurance, a facility shall make the services provided in the facility or portion thereof constructed, modernized, or converted with Federal assistance under Title VI or XVI of the Act available to all persons residing (and, in the case of facilities assisted under Title XVI of the Act, employed) in the facility's service area without discrimination on the ground of race, color, national origin, creed, or any other ground unrelated to an individual's need for the service or the availability of the needed service in the facility. Subject to paragraph (b) (concerning emergency services) a facility may deny services to persons who are unable to pay for them unless those persons are required to be provided uncompensated services under the provisions of Subpart F.

(2) A person is residing in the facility's service area for purposes of this section if the person:

(i) Is living in the service area with the intention to remain there permanently or for an indefinite period;
(ii) Is living in the service area for purposes of employment; or
(iii) Is living with a family member who resides in the service area.

(b) Emergency services. (1) A facility may not deny emergency services to any person who resides (or, in the case of facilities assisted under Title XVI of the Act, is employed) in the facility's service area on the ground that the person is unable to pay for those services.
(2) A facility may discharge a person that has received emergency services, or may transfer the person to another facility able to provide necessary services, when the appropriate medical personnel determine that discharge or transfer will not subject the person to a substantial risk of deterioration in medical condition.

(c) Third party payor programs.(1) The facility shall make arrangements, if eligible to do so, for reimbursement for services with:

(i) Those principal State and local governmental third-party payors that provide reimbursement for services that is not less than the actual costs, as determined in accordance with accepted cost accounting principles; and
(ii) Federal governmental third-party programs, such as medicare and medicaid.

(2) The facility shall take any necessary steps to insure that admission to and services of the facility are available to beneficiaries of the governmental programs specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section without discrimination or preference because they are beneficiaries of those programs.

(d) Exclusionary admissions policies. A facility is out of compliance with its community service assurance if it uses an admission policy that has the effect of excluding persons on a ground other than those permitted under paragraph (a) of this section. Illustrative applications of this requirement are described in the following paragraphs: (1) A facility has a policy or practice of admitting only those patients who are referred by physicians with staff privileges at the facility. If this policy or practice has the effect of excluding persons who reside (or for Title XVI facilities, are employed) in the community from the facility because they do not have a private family doctor with staff privileges at the facility, the facility would not be in compliance with its assurance. The facility is not required to abolish its staff physician admissions policy as a usual method for admission. However, to be in compliance with its community service assurance it must make alternative arrangements to assist area residents who would otherwise be unable to gain admission to obtain services available in the facility. Examples of alternative arrangements a facility might use include:

(i) Authorizing the individual's physician, if licensed and otherwise qualified, to treat the patient at the facility even though the physician does not have staff privileges at the facility;
(ii) For those patients who have no physician, obtaining the voluntary agreement of physicians with staff privileges at the facility to accept referrals of such patients, perhaps on a rotating basis;
(iii) If an insufficient number of physicians with staff privileges agree to participate in a referral arrangement, requiring acceptance of referrals as a condition to obtaining or renewing staff privileges;
(iv) Establishing a hospital-based primary care clinic through which patients needing hospitalization may be admitted; or
(v) Hiring or contracting with qualified physicians to treat patients who do not have private physicians.

(2) A facility, as required, is a qualified provider under the Title XIX medicaid program, but few or none of the physicians with staff privileges at the facility or in a particular department or sub-department of the facility will treat medicaid patients. If the effect is that some medicaid patients are excluded from the facility or from any service provided in the facility, the facility is not in compliance with its community service assurance. To be in compliance a facility does not have to require all of its staff physicians to accept medicaid. However, it must take steps to ensure that medicaid beneficiaries have full access to all of its available services. Examples of steps that may be taken include:

(i) Obtaining the voluntary agreement of a reasonable number of physicians with staff privileges at the facility and in each department or sub-department to accept referral of medicaid patients, perhaps on a rotating basis;
(ii) If an insufficient number of physicians with staff privileges agree to participate in a referral arrangement, requiring acceptance of referrals as a condition to obtaining or renewing staff privileges;
(iii) Establishing a clinic through which medicaid beneficiaries needing hospitalization may be admitted; or
(iv) Hiring or contracting with physicians to treat medicaid patients.

(3) A facility requires advance deposits (pre-admission or pre-service deposits) before admitting or serving patients. If the effect of this practice is that some persons are denied admission or service or face substantial delays in gaining admission or service solely because they do not have the necessary cash on hand, this would constitute a violation of the community service assurance. While the facility is not required to forego the use of a deposit policy in all situations, it is required to make alternative arrangements to ensure that persons who probably can pay for the services are not denied them simply because they do not have the available cash at the time services are not denied them simply because they do not have the available cash at the time services are requested. For example, many employed persons and persons with collateral do not have savings, but can pay hospital bills on an installment basis, or can pay a small deposit. Such persons may not be excluded from admission or denied services because of their inability to pay a deposit.

§124.604 Posted notice

.

(a) The facility shall post notices, which the Secretary supplies in English and Spanish, in appropriate areas of the facility, including but not limited to the admissions area, the business office and the emergency room.

(b) If in the service area of the facility the "usual language of households" of ten percent or more of the population, according to the most recent figures published by the Bureau of the Census, is other than English or Spanish, the facility shall translate the notice into that language and post the translated notice on signs substantially similar in size and legibility to, and posted with, those supplied under paragraph (a).
(c) The facility shall make reasonable efforts to communicate the contents of the posted notice to persons who it has reason to believe cannot read the notice.

§124.605 Reporting and record maintenance requirements.

(a) Reporting requirements - (1) Timing of reports -(i) A facility shall submit to the Secretary a report to assist the Secretary in determining compliance with this subpart once every three fiscal years, on a schedule to be prescribed by the Secretary. The report required by this section shall be submitted not later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal year, unless a longer period is approved by the Secretary for good cause shown.
(ii) A facility shall also submit the required report whenever the Secretary determines, and so notifies the facility in writing, that a report is needed for proper administration of the program. In this situation the facility shall submit the report specified in this section for the filing of reports, within 90 days after receiving notice from the Secretary, or within 90 days after the close of the fiscal year, whichever is later.

(2) Content of report. The report must be submitted on a form prescribed by the Secretary and must include information that the Secretary prescribes to permit a determination of whether a facility has met its obligations under this subpart.

(3) The facility shall provide a copy of any report to the HSA for the area when submitting it to the Secretary.

(4) Institution of suit. Not later than 10 days after being served with a summons or complaint, the applicant shall notify the Regional Health Administrator for the Region of HHS in which it is located of any legal action brought against it alleging that it has failed to comply with the requirements of this subpart. 1

(b) Record maintenance requirements. (1) A facility shall maintain, make available for public inspection consistent with personal privacy, and provide to the Secretary on request, any records necessary to document its compliance requirements of this subpart in any fiscal year, including documents from which information required to be reported under paragraph (a) of this section was obtained. A facility shall maintain these records until 180 days following the close of the Secretary's investigation under 124.606(a).

124.606 Investigation and enforcement.

(a) Investigations. (1) The Secretary periodically investigates the compliance of facilities with the requirements of this subpart, and investigates complaints.

(2) (i) A complaint is filed with the Secretary on the date on which the following information is received in the Office of the Regional Health Administrator for the Region of HHS in which the facility is located:

(A) The name and address of the person making the complaint or on whose behalf the complaint is made;
(B) The name and location of the facility;
(C) The date or approximate date on which the event complained of occurred, and
(D) A statement of what actions the complainant considers to violate the requirements of this subpart.
(ii) The Secretary promptly provides a copy of the complaint of each facility named in the complainant.

(3) When the Secretary investigates a facility, the facility shall provide to the Secretary on request any documents, records, and other information concerning its operations that relate to the requirements of this subpart.

(4) The Act provides that if the Secretary dismisses a complaint or the Attorney General has not brought an action for compliance within six months from the date on which the complaint is filed, the person filing it may bring a private action to effectuate compliance with the assurance. If the Secretary determines that he will be unable to issue a decision on a compliant or otherwise take appropriate action within the six month period, he may, based on priorities for the disposition of complaints that are established to promote the most effective use of enforcement resources, or on the request of the complainant, dismiss the complaint without a finding as to compliance prior to the end of the six month period, but no earlier than 45 days after the complaint is filed.

(b)Enforcement. (1) If the Secretary finds, based on his investigation under paragraph (a) of this section, that a facility did not comply with the requirements of this subpart, he may take any action authorized by law to secure compliance, including but not limited to voluntary agreement or a request to the Attorney General to bring an action against the facility for specific performance.

(2) If the Secretary finds, based on his investigation under paragraph (a) of this section, that a facility has limited the availability of its services in a manner proscribed by this subpart, he may, in addition to any other action that he is authorized to take in accordance with the Act, require the facility to establish an effective affirmative action plan that in his judgement is designed to insure that its services are made available to accordance with the requirements of this subpart.

124.607 Agreements with State agencies.

(a) Where the Secretary finds that it will promote the purposes of this subpart, and the State agency is able and willing to do so, he may enter into an agreement with the State agency for the State agency to assist him in administering this subpart in the State.

(b) Under an agreement, the State agency will provide the Secretary with any assistance he requests in any one or more of the following areas, as set out in the agreement:

(1) Investigation of complaints of noncompliance;
(2) Monitoring the compliance of facilities with the requirements of this subpart;
(3) Review of affirmative action plans submitted under§ 124.606(b);
(4) Review of reports submitted under 124.605;
(5) Making initial decisions for the Secretary with respect to compliance, subject to appeal by any party to the Secretary or review by the Secretary on his own initiative; and
(6) Application of any sanctions available to it under State law (such as license revocation or termination of State assistance) against facilities determined to be out of compliance with the requirements of this subpart.

(c) A State agency may use funds received under section 1525 of the Act to pay for expenses incurred in the course of carrying out this agreement.
(d) Nothing in this subpart precludes any State from taking any action authorized by State law regarding the provision of services by any facility in the State as long as the action taken does not prevent the Secretary from enforcing the requirements of this subpart.
_____________
1 The addresses of the Regional Office of HHS are set out in 45 CFR 5.31.

HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH OCR
Return to HHS Home Page
Return to OCR Home Page
ocrmail@hhs.gov