S.F. No. 1358 modifies the responsibilities of hospitals and of the commissioner of health with respect to public interest reviews of proposed exceptions to the hospital construction moratorium.

Section 1 (144.552, paragraph a) requires the commissioner to return in full payments made by a hospital to the commissioner to cover the costs of a public interest review if the commissioner fails to issue a finding within 120 calendar days of the initial submission of the hospital’s plan to increase its number of licensed beds.

Paragraph (b) requires a hospital to respond to the commissioner’s request for additional information within 14 days of the commissioner’s request.

Paragraph (c) increases the current 90-day default time limit for the commissioner to issue a public interest finding to 120 calendar days, but also eliminates the six-month time limit in extenuating circumstances.

Paragraph (c), clause (1), modifies one of the conditions the commissioner is required to consider when performing a public interest review of a proposed hospital construction moratorium exception: under current practice, the commissioner considers the number of licensed beds when analyzing whether new hospitals or new licensed beds are needed “to provide timely access to care or access to new and improved services.” The amendment to paragraph (c), clause (1), requires the commissioner to consider instead the number of available beds and provides a definition of "available beds."