Section 127345 Of Chapter 2. Health Policy Research And Evaluation From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 107. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 2.
127345
. As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Community benefits plan" means the written document prepared
for annual submission to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development that shall include, but shall not be limited to, a
description of the activities that the hospital has undertaken in
order to address identified community needs within its mission and
financial capacity, and the process by which the hospital developed
the plan in consultation with the community.
(b) "Community" means the service areas or patient populations for
which the hospital provides health care services.
(c) Solely for the planning and reporting purposes of this
article, "community benefit" means a hospital's activities that are
intended to address community needs and priorities primarily through
disease prevention and improvement of health status, including, but
not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Health care services, rendered to vulnerable populations,
including, but not limited to, charity care and the unreimbursed cost
of providing services to the uninsured, underinsured, and those
eligible for Medi-Cal, Medicare, California Childrens Services
Program, or county indigent programs.
(2) The unreimbursed cost of services included in subdivision (d)
of Section 127340.
(3) Financial or in-kind support of public health programs.
(4) Donation of funds, property, or other resources that
contribute to a community priority.
(5) Health care cost containment.
(6) Enhancement of access to health care or related services that
contribute to a healthier community.
(7) Services offered without regard to financial return because
they meet a community need in the service area of the hospital, and
other services including health promotion, health education,
prevention, and social services.
(8) Food, shelter, clothing, education, transportation, and other
goods or services that help maintain a person's health.
(d) "Community needs assessment" means the process by which the
hospital identifies, for its primary service area as determined by
the hospital, unmet community needs.
(e) "Community needs" means those requisites for improvement or
maintenance of health status in the community.
(f) "Hospital" means a private not-for-profit acute hospital
licensed under subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1250 and is
owned by a corporation that has been determined to be exempt from
taxation under the United States Internal Revenue Code. "Hospital"
does not mean any of the following:
(1) Hospitals that are dedicated to serving children and that do
not receive direct payment for services to any patient.
(2) Small and rural hospitals as defined in Section 124840.
(g) "Mission statement" means a hospital's primary objectives for
operation as adopted by its governing body.
(h) "Vulnerable populations" means any population that is exposed
to medical or financial risk by virtue of being uninsured,
underinsured, or eligible for Medi-Cal, Medicare, California
Childrens Services Program, or county indigent programs.