§ 23-17-4. License required for healthcare facility operation.

(a) No person acting severally or jointly with any other person shall establish, conduct, or maintain a healthcare facility in this state without a license under this chapter; provided, however, that any person, firm, corporation, or other entity that provides volunteer, registered and licensed practical nurses to the public shall not be required to have a license as a healthcare facility.

(b) Each location at which a healthcare facility provides services shall be licensed; provided, however, that a hospital or organized ambulatory-care facility shall be permitted to provide, solely on an ambulatory basis, limited physician services, other limited, professional healthcare services, and/or other limited, professional mental-healthcare services in conjunction with services provided by and at community health centers, community mental-health centers, organized ambulatory-care facilities or other licensed healthcare facilities, physicians€™ offices, and facilities operated by the department of corrections without establishing such locations as additional licensed premises of the hospital or organized ambulatory-care facility; provided, that a healthcare facility licensed as an organized ambulatory-care facility in the state, may provide services at other locations operated by that licensed organized ambulatory-care facility, without the requirement of a separate, organized ambulatory-care facility license for such other locations. For purposes of this section, an organized ambulatory-care facility or other licensed healthcare facility shall not include a freestanding emergency-care facility. The department is further authorized to adopt rules and regulations to accomplish the purpose of this section, including, but not limited to, defining €œlimited physician services, other limited, professional healthcare services, and/or other limited, professional mental-healthcare services.€

(c) The reimbursement rates for the services rendered in the settings listed in subsection (b) shall be subject to negotiations between the hospitals, organized, ambulatory-care facilities, and the payors, respectively, as defined in § 23-17.12-2.