August 28, 2024 Stakeholder Meeting: Critical Access Hospital Licensure - SB24-121

 

To: CAHs, hospitals, and all stakeholders interested in SB24-121 From: HFEMSD You are invited to participate in the stakeholder process to create a new license category for critical access hospitals as required by SB24-121, a law passed by the Colorado Legislature during the 2024 session. Starting on January 1, 2026, federally-designated critical access hospitals subject to 42 CFR 485, Subpart F will no longer hold general hospital licenses to operate. Instead, these hospitals will be required to hold a new critical access hospital license. The federal requirements for critical access designation remain the same. The goal of this stakeholder process is to create a separate licensing chapter and license category for critical access hospitals.  The second stakeholder meeting will be on August 28, 2024 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm. Meetings are currently scheduled to continue through April 2025 for a total of 10 meetings. However, the Department is considering abbreviating the stakeholder process based on stakeholder feedback with the proposed rule language to date. In order to foster robust discussion, the Department encourages stakeholders to prepare for meetings by reviewing materials in advance and identifying questions, potential inconsistencies, and concerns. Please bring your comments to the next stakeholder meeting and be prepared to discuss the proposed rules in a meaningful way. Active participation from stakeholders is critical to the success of any stakeholder process. All stakeholder meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to attend. Meetings will be held in hybrid format with an option to attend either in-person, or remotely, via Zoom, to ensure equal access for participation regardless of geographic location of the attendee.  The in-person meeting will be at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment main campus, 4300 Cherry Creek S Drive, Denver, CO 80246, in Building A, Room Snow. This meeting room is located on the first floor of Building A, down the hall from the main entrance. Zoom meeting information:  Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 830 3112 6573 Details regarding the stakeholder process, including meeting documents, agendas, proposed rule language, presentations, etc., will be available in the public meeting folder. Agendas and proposed rule language will be posted no later than a week in advance of each meeting. If you would like to receive communication regarding the critical access licensure stakeholder process, please sign-up for the interested parties list to receive email notifications directly to your inbox.  If you have any questions or comments prior to the meeting, feel free to contact Ash Jackson at ash.jackson@state.co.us, or Alexandra Haas, at alexandra.haas@state.co.us.  .