H 3613 — Executive Office of Health Policy

    (4) shall have the authority to determine the appropriate course of treatment for patients with complex or co-occurring diagnoses necessitating involvement of two or more component departments, provided that the determination may not preempt or override treatment decisions arrived at between a patient and his physician;

    (5) shall, subject to applicable federal law, require data sharing to the fullest extent possible among the component departments when necessary to accomplish the goals of the plan;

    (6) shall, to the extent practicable, consolidate administrative services among the component departments.

Consolidated administrative services include, but are not limited to:

       (a) financial and accounting support, such as accounts payable and receivable processing, procurement processing, journal entry processing, and financial reporting assistance;

       (b) human resources administrative support, such as transaction processing and reporting, payroll processing, and human resources training;

       (c) budget support, such as budget transaction processing and budget reporting assistance;

and        (d) information technology;

    (7) shall, with regard to information technology, ensure that the office and the component departments comply with all plans, policies, and directives of the Department of Administration;

    (8) may employ such persons as he determines are necessary to carry out the office's duties;

and     (9) may enter into contracts with public agencies, institutions of higher education, and private organizations or individuals for the purpose of carrying out the office's duties.

      Section 44-12-50.  (A) The Executive Office of Health and Policy shall consist of the following component departments:

       (1) the Department of Health Financing;

       (2) the Department of Public Health;

       (3) the Department on Aging;

       (4) the Department of Intellectual and Related Disabilities;

and        (5) the Department of Behavioral Health.

    (B)(1) The component departments shall be headed by a department director appointed by the secretary.

Department directors shall serve at the will and pleasure of the secretary.

In the case of a vacancy in a department director's position prior to the appointment of a successor, the secretary may assign an employee of the department or the office to perform the duties required of the vacant position on an interim basis.

       (2) The secretary shall develop the budget for the office with each component department constituting a separate program area.

The secretary shall consult with each component department director in developing the priorities and funding request for his component department.

       (3) The secretary may, to the extent authorized through the annual appropriations act or relevant permanent law, organize the administration of the office, including the assignment of personnel to the office and among its component departments, as is necessary to carry out the office's duties.

      Section 44-12-60.  The component departments shall carry out their duties, functions, and powers as provided in their respective enabling statutes and as otherwise provided by laws subject to the management decisions, policy development, and standards established of and by the secretary as provided in this chapter.

  SECTION 2.  Section 1-30-10(A) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (A) There are hereby created, within the executive branch of the state government, the following departments:

       1.

Department of Administration        2.

Department of Agriculture        3. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services        4.3.

Department of Commerce        5.4.

Department of Corrections        6. Department of Disabilities and Special Needs        7.5.

Department of Education        8. Department of Public Health        9. Department of Health and Hu man Services        10.6.

Department of Insurance        11.7.

Department of Juvenile Justice        12.8.

Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation        13. Department of Mental Health        14.9.

Department of Motor Vehicles        15.10.

Department of Natural Resources        16.11.

Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism        17.12.

Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services        18.13.

Department of Public Safety        19.14.

Department of Revenue        20.15.

Department of Social Services        21.16.

Department of Transportation        22.17.

Department of Employment and Workforce        23. Department on Aging        24.18.

Department of Veterans' Affairs.

       25.19.

Department of Environmental Services        20.

Executive Office of Health and Policy   SECTION 3.  Section 8-17-370 of the S.C.

Code is amended by adding:

      (21) The Secretary of Health and Policy, the directors of the component departments of the Executive Office of Health and Policy, all direct reports to the secretary and to directors of the component departments, and all direct reports to division directors within the Department of Behavioral Health.

  SECTION 4.  The Code Commissioner is directed to change the following headings in the S.C.

Code:

    (1) Chapter 6, Title 44 shall be entitled "Department of Health Financing";

    (2) Chapter 20, Title 44 shall be entitled "Department of Intellectual and Related Disabilities";

and     (3) Chapter 9, Title 44 shall be entitled "Department of Behavioral Health."   SECTION 5.  Chapter 49, Title 44 of the S.C.

Code is repealed.

  SECTION 6.  (A) Upon the effective date of this act, the directors of the Departments of Public Health and Aging shall serve as the interim department directors of their respective departments within the Executive Office of Health and Policy, unless otherwise removed by the Secretary of Health and Policy, until such time as a successor is appointed by the secretary and assumes the position.

The Director of the Department of Health and Human Services shall serve as the interim Director of the Department of Health Financing, unless otherwise removed by the Secretary of Health and Policy, until such time as a successor is appointed by the secretary and assumes the position.

The Director of the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs shall serve as the interim Director of the Department of Intellectual and Related Disabilities, unless otherwise removed by the Secretary of Health and Policy, until such time as a successor is appointed by the secretary and assumes the position.

In the case of a vacancy in the director's position in one or more of the departments on or after the effective date of this act and prior to the appointment of a successor, the Secretary of Health and Policy may assign an employee of the department or the Executive Office of Health and Policy to perform the duties required of the vacant position in the interim.

    (B) Upon the effective date of this act, the Director of the Department of Mental Health shall serve as the interim Director of the Department of Behavioral Health, unless otherwise removed by the Secretary of Health and Policy, until such time as a successor is appointed by the secretary and assumes the position.

In the case of a vacancy in the director's position at the Department of Behavioral Health on or after the effective date of this act and prior to the appointment of a successor, the Secretary of Health and Policy may assign an employee of the department or the Executive Office of Health and Policy to perform the duties required of the vacant position in the interim.

    (C) Upon the effective date of this act, the Director of the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services shall serve as the interim Director of the Division on Alcohol and Drug Addiction of the Department of Behavioral Health until such time as a replacement is appointed by the Director of the Department of Behavioral Health.

Prior to the appointment of the Director of the Department of Behavioral Health, the Secretary of Health and Policy has the discretion to remove the division director.

In the case of a vacancy in the director's position at the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services or the Division on Alcohol and Drug Addiction on or after the effective date of this act and prior to the appointment of a successor by the Director of the Department of Behavioral Health, the Secretary of Health and Policy may assign an employee of the department or the Executive Office of Health and Policy to perform the duties required of the vacant position in the interim.

    (D) Nothing in this act prevents the Secretary of Health and Policy from reappointing the directors of their respective departments serving in those roles as of the effective date of this act.

    (E) The Governor's initial appointee as Secretary of Health and Policy shall serve in an interim capacity with the powers and duties assigned to the secretary through this act until such time as the Senate provides advice and consent regarding the appointment.

Should the Senate not advise and consent to the initial appointee prior to sine die adjournment of the 2026 regular session, the office shall be vacant, and the interim appointee shall not serve in hold-over status.

  SECTION 7.  (A) Except for personnel and funds transferred pursuant to subsection (B), the Departments of Health Financing, Public Health, Aging, and Intellectual and Related Disabilities shall operate as component departments of the Executive Office of Health and Policy in the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year using the authority and funds appropriated to the Departments of Health and Human Services, Public Health, Aging, and Disabilities and Special Needs as standalone agencies in the appropriations act of 2025.

Except for personnel and funds transferred pursuant to subsection (B), the Department of Behavioral Health shall operate as a component department of the Executive Office of Health and Policy in the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year using the authority and funds appropriated to the Departments of Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services as standalone agencies in the appropriations act of 2025.

    (B) Upon appointment and confirmation, the Secretary of Health and Policy may cause the transfer to the Executive Office of Health and Policy such:

(1) personnel and attendant funding included in the administrative areas of the 2025 Appropriations Act and (2) operating expenses included in the administrative areas of the 2025 Appropriations Act of one or more of the component departments of the office as, in the determination of the secretary, is necessary to carry out the duties of the office.

The Department of Administration shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish any such transfer and shall in consultation with the secretary prescribe the manner in which the transfer provided for in this section shall be accomplished.

The Department of Administration's actions in facilitating the provisions of this section are ministerial in nature and shall not be construed as an approval process over any of the transfers.

    (C) Except for those positions transferred pursuant to this section or otherwise specifically referenced in this act, employees of the Departments of Health and Human Services, Public Health, Aging, Disabilities and Special Needs, Mental Health, or Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services shall maintain their same status with the appropriate component department of the Executive Office of Health and Policy.

Employees of the departments of Public Health and Aging shall become employees of their respective departments within the Executive Office of Health and Policy.

Employees of the Department of Health and Human Services shall become employees of the Department of Health Financing within the Executive Office of Health and Policy.

Employees of the Departments of Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services shall become employees of the Department of Behavioral Health within the Executive Office of Health and Policy.

Employees of the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs shall become employees of the Department of Intellectual and Related Disabilities.

    (D) Nothing in this act affects bonded indebtedness, if applicable, real and personal property, assets, liabilities, contracts, regulations, or policies of the Departments of Health and Human Services, Public Health, Aging, Disabilities and Special Needs, Mental Health, or Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services existing on the effective date.

All applicable bonded indebtedness, real and personal property, assets, liabilities, contracts, regulations, or policies shall continue in effect in the name of the Executive Office of Health and Policy or the appropriate component division.

  SECTION 8.A.  Section 44-1-20 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-1-20.

There is created the South Carolina Department of Public Health to be headed by a director who is appointed by the Secretary of Health and Policy pursuant to Section 44-12-50(B)(1).

  B.

Sections 44-1-80 through 44-1-140 of the S.C.

Code are amended to read:

      Section 44-1-80.

(A) The Board of Health and Environmental ControlDepartment of Public Health or its designated agents must investigate the reported causes of communicable or epidemic disease.

The Department of Public Health, upon approval of the Governor, may and must enforce or prescribe these preventive measures as may be needed to suppress or prevent the spread of these diseases by proper quarantine or other measures of prevention, as may be necessary to protect the citizens of the State.

The Board of Health and Environmental ControlDepartment of Public Health or its designated agents shall declare, when the facts justify it, any place as infected and, in case of hydrophobia or other diseases transmitted from animals to man, must declare such animal or animals quarantined, and must place all such restrictions upon ingress and egress of persons or animals therefrom as may be, in its judgment, necessary to prevent the spread of disease from the infected locality.

    (B)(1) Whenever the boarddepartment learns of a case of a reportable illness or health condition, an unusual cluster, or a suspicious event that it reasonably believes has the potential to cause a public health emergency, as defined in Section 44-4-130, it is authorized to notify the appropriate public safety authority, tribal authorities, and federal health and public safety authorities.

       (2) The sharing of information on reportable illnesses, health conditions, unusual clusters, or suspicious events between authorized personnel must be restricted to information necessary for the treatment, control, investigation, and prevention of a public health emergency.

Restriction of access to this information to those authorized personnel for the protection of public health ensures compliance with all state and federal health information privacy laws.

       (3) The boarddepartment and its agents must have full access to medical records and nonmedical records when necessary to investigate the causes, character, and means of preventing the spread of a qualifying health event or public health emergency.

For purposes of this item, "nonmedical records" mean records of entities, including businesses, health facilities, and pharmacies, which are needed to adequately identify and locate persons believed to have been potentially exposed or known to have been infected with a contagious disease.

       (4) An order of the board given to effectuate the purposes of this subsection is enforceable immediately by the public safety authority.

       (5)(4) For purposes of this subsection, the terms qualifying health event, public health emergency, and public safety authority have the same meanings as provided in Section 44-4-130.

      Section 44-1-90.

The State Board of Health and Environmental ControlDepartment of Public Health or its designated agents, when it is deemed necessary by the municipal officers of any town or city or the governing body of any county, may (a) visit cities, towns, villages or localities where disease is prevalent or threatened, (b) investigate and advise with the local authorities or persons as to such measures as may tend to prevent the spread of disease or to remove or abate causes that may tend to cause or intensify disease, (c) advise, when practicable or possible, as to measures of sanitation or hygiene and (d) investigate and advise as to all matters respecting water supply, sewage, drainage, ventilation, heating, lighting or other measures connected with public sanitation or safety.

      Section 44-1-100.  AllIf so ordered by the Governor, all sheriffs and constables in the several counties of this State and police officers and health officers of cities and towns must aid and assist the Director of the Department of Public Health and Environmental Control and must carry out and obey his orders, or those of the Department of Public Health and Environmental Control, to enforce and carry out any and all restrictive measures and quarantine regulations that may be prescribed.

During a state of public health emergency, as defined in Section 44-4-130, the director may request assistance in enforcing orders issued pursuant to this chapter and pursuant to Chapter 4, Title 44, from the public safety authority, as defined in Section 44-4-130, other state law enforcement authorities, and local law enforcement.

The public safety authority may request assistance from the South Carolina National Guard in enforcing orders made pursuant to this chapter or pursuant to Chapter 4, Title 44, which may be deployed or activated only upon order of the Governor.

      Section 44-1-110.  The Department of Health and Environmental Control is invested with all the rights and charged with all the duties pertaining to organizations of like character and is the sole advisor of the State in all questions involving the protection of the public health within its limits.The Department of Public Health shall advise the Secretary of Health and Policy on all questions involving the protection of public health within its limits.

    ItThe Department of Public Health shall, through its representatives, investigate the causes, character, and means of preventing the epidemic and endemic diseases as the State is liable to suffer from and the influence of climate, location, and occupations, habits, drainage, scavengering, water supply, heating, and ventilation.  It shall have, upon request, full access to the medical records, tumor registries, and other special disease record systems maintained by physicians, hospitals, and other health facilities as necessary to carry out its investigation of these diseases.  No physician, hospital, or health facility, or person in charge of these records is liable in any action-at-law for permitting the examination or review.  Patient-identifying information elicited from these records and registries must be kept confidential by the department and it is exempt from the provisions of Chapter of Title 30.  It shall supervise and control the quarantine system of the State.  It may establish quarantine both by land and sea.

      Section 44-1-130.  The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control may divide the State into health districts and establish in these districts advisory boards of health which shall consist of representatives from each county in the district.  Boards of health now existing in the districts shall have representation on the district advisory board.  Counties not having local boards of health shall be represented by individuals appointed by the county legislative delegation.  The number of members of a district advisory board shall be determined by the Department with due consideration to the population and community needs of the district.  District advisory boards of health shall be subject to the supervisory and advisory control of the Department.  District advisory boards are charged with the duty of advising the district medical director or administrator in all matters of sanitary interest and scientific importance bearing upon the protection of the public health.

    The district medical director or administrator shall be secretary of the advisory board and the district advisory board shall elect annually from its membership a chairman.

      Section 44-1-140.  (A) The Department of Public Health may make, adopt, promulgate, and enforce reasonable rules and regulations from time to time requiring and providing for:

       (1) the thorough sanitation and disinfection of all passenger cars, sleeping cars, steamboats, and other vehicles of transportation in this State and all convict camps, penitentiaries, jails, hotels, schools, and other places used by or open to the public;

       (2) the sanitation of hotels, restaurants, cafes, drugstores, hot dog and hamburger stands, and all other places or establishments providing eating or drinking facilities and all other places known as private nursing homes or places of similar nature, operated for gain or profit;

       (3) the safety and sanitation in the harvesting, storing, processing, handling and transportation of mollusks, fin fish, and crustaceans;

       (4) the safety, safe operation and sanitation of public swimming pools and other public bathing places, construction, tourist and trailer camps, and fairs;

       (5)(2) the care, segregation, and isolation of persons having or suspected of having any communicable, contagious, or infectious disease;  and        (6)(3) the thorough investigation and study of the causes of all diseases, epidemic and otherwise, in this State, the means for the prevention of contagious disease and the publication and distribution of such information as may contribute to the preservation of the public health and the prevention of disease.

    (B) The department may make separate orders and rules to meet any emergency not provided for by general rules and regulations, for the purpose of suppressing nuisances dangerous to the public health and communicable, contagious, and infectious diseases and other danger to the public life and health.

    (C) Prior to submission of rules or regulations pursuant to this section, the department must receive approval from the Secretary of Health and Policy.

  C.

Sections 44-1-151 and 44-1-152 of the S.C.

Code are amended to read:

      Section 44-1-151.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all shellfish involved in any violation of law, including any regulation, regarding shellfish may be confiscated and disposed of at the discretion of the arresting officer.  Any person convicted of a second offense of harvesting shellfish in any polluted area shall, upon such conviction, be fined not less than two hundred dollars and not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days and not more than sixty days.  Any person convicted of a third or subsequent offense of harvesting shellfish in any polluted area shall, upon such conviction, be fined not less than five hundred dollars and not more than one thousand or imprisoned for not less than sixty days and not more than ninety days.  All equipment, including, but not limited to, vehicles, boats, motors, trailers, harvesting equipment, weapons, spotlights, bags, boxes, or tools, used or in any other manner involved in a first offense of harvesting shellfish in any polluted area may be impounded at the discretion of the arresting officer.  The equipment impounded shall be delivered to the sheriff of the county in which the arrest was made and shall be retained by the sheriff.  Such equipment may not be returned to the owner until the case has been finally disposed of.  All equipment, including, but not limited to, vehicles, boats, motors, trailers, harvesting equipment, weapons, spotlights, bags, boxes, or tools, used or in any other manner involved in a second, third, or subsequent offense of harvesting shellfish in any polluted area shall be confiscated.  All such confiscated equipment shall be sold at auction by the sheriff of the county in which such second, third, or subsequent offense took place and by a representative of the State Department of Health and Environmental ControlServices, except for weapons, which, following confiscation, shall be disposed of in the manner set forth in Sections 16-23-50, 16-23-460, and 16-23-500.

      Section 44-1-152.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all revenue from any fine or any forfeiture of bond for any violation of any shellfish law or regulation provided by this title must be deposited monthly with the treasurer of the county in which the arrest for such violation was made.

One-third of such revenue must be retained by the county treasurer to be used for the general operating needs of the county pursuant to the direction of the governing body of the county.

Two-thirds of such revenue must be remitted quarterly to the state Department of Health and Environmental ControlServices of which one-half is to be used in enforcing shellfish laws and regulations and one-half of such revenue must be remitted quarterly to the state's general fund.

All monies derived from auction sales of confiscated equipment pursuant to Section 44-1-151 must be deposited, retained, remitted, and used in the same manner as provided in this section for all revenue derived from any fine or any violation of any shellfish law or regulation.

A report of fines for forfeitures of bonds regarding shellfish violations must be sent to the state Department of Health and Environmental ControlServices monthly by each magistrate and clerk of court in this State.

A report of monies derived from auction of sales of confiscated equipment must be sent to the state Department of Health and Environmental ControlServices monthly by each sheriff.

  D.

Sections 44-1-165 through 44-1-300 of the S.C.

Code are amended to read:

      Section 44-1-165.  (A) There is established within the Department of Health and Environmental ControlServices the Expedited Review Program to provide an expedited process for permit application review.  Participation in this program is voluntary and the program must be supported by expedited review fees promulgated in regulation pursuant to subsection (B)(1).  The department shall determine the project applications to review, and the process may be applied to any one or all of the permit programs administered by the department.

    (B)(1) Before January 1, 2009, the department shall promulgate regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

The regulations shall include, but are not limited to, definitions of "completeness" for applications submitted, consideration of joint federal-state permitting activities, standards for applications submitted that advance environmental protection, and expedited process application review fees.

       (2) Regulations promulgated pursuant to this section must not alter public notice requirements for any permits, certifications, or licenses issued by the department.

    (C) Until such time as regulations are promulgated pursuant to subsection (B), the department shall conduct a pilot expedited review program to determine the most environmentally sound, cost efficient, and economically beneficial process for implementation of a statewide expedited review program.  The department shall determine which permit programs, or subcomponents of a program, to include in the pilot program and also may establish pilot program expedited process application fees.

    (D) There is created the Expedited Review Fund that is separate and distinct from the general fund of the State and all other funds.  Fees established in regulation pursuant to subsection (B)(1) and assessed pursuant to subsection (C) must be credited to the fund and used for the costs of implementing the expedited review program.  Interest accruing to the fund must be retained by the fund and used for the same purposes.  Revenue in the fund not expended during a fiscal year, including fees generated pursuant to subsection (C), must be carried forward to the succeeding fiscal year and must be used for the same purposes.

    (E) No later than January 1, 2008, the department shall report to the Board of Health and Environmental Control the department's findings on the implementation of the pilot expedited review program provided for in subsection (C).

      Section 44-1-170.  The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control may direct and supervise the action of the local boards of health in incorporated cities and towns and in all townships in all matters pertaining to such local boards.

      Section 44-1-180.  The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control may establish charges for maintenance and medical care for all persons served in state health centers and other health facilities under the jurisdiction of the department and by personnel of the department and of the health units under its jurisdiction in homes and any other places where health services are needed.  The terms "medical care" and "health services" include the services of physicians, dentists, optometrists, nurses, sanitarians, physical therapists, medical social workers, occupational therapists, health aides, speech therapists, X-ray technologists, dietitians, nutritionists, laboratory technicians, and other professional and subprofessional health workers.  The charges, which may be adjusted from time to time, shall be reasonable and based on the total costs of the services rendered, including operating costs, depreciation costs, and all other elements of costs.

      Section 44-1-190.  The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control shall make such investigations as it deems necessary to determine which persons or which of the parents, guardians, trustees, committees or other persons or agencies legally responsible therefor are financially able to pay the expenses of the care and treatment, and may contract with any person or agency for the care and treatment of any person to the extent permitted by the resources available to the department.  The department may require any county or state agency to furnish information which would be helpful to it in making the investigations.  In arriving at the amount to be charged, the department shall have due regard for the financial condition and estate of the person, his present and future needs and the present and future needs of his lawful dependents, and whenever considered necessary to protect him or his dependents, may agree to accept a sum less than the actual cost of services.  No person shall be deprived of available health services solely because of inability to pay.  No fees shall be charged for services which in the judgment of the department should be made freely available in order to protect and promote the public health.

      Section 44-1-200.  The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control may provide home health services to those persons living in areas of the State in which adequate home health services are not available and may charge fees for such services.  Home health services shall include care of the ill and disabled rendered at home including, but not limited to, bedside care, treatment and rehabilitation services.  In order that it may provide such services, the department may employ the necessary personnel, including nurses, physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, medical social workers, home health aides, nutritionists, and supervisory personnel, and may purchase equipment and materials necessary to maintain an effective program.  The department shall, wherever possible, assist and advise nonprofit agencies or associations in the development of home health services programs and may enter into agreements with such agencies or associations specifying the type of assistance and advice it will provide.

      Section 44-1-210.  All fees and charges collected pursuant to Sections 44-1-180 to 44-1-200, including vital statistics fees as now provided by law, shall be deposited in the State Treasury and shall be used in the operation of the public health program of the bureau, division, district health unit or local county health department which performed the services for which the fees and charges were collected.  An annual report shall be made to the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, Executive Budget Office and the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office of the receipts and expenditures made under the provisions of Sections 44-1-180 to 44-1-200.

      Section 44-1-215.  Notwithstanding Section 13-7-85, the Department of Health and Environmental Control may retain all funds generated in excess of those funds remitted to the general fund in fiscal year 2000-2001 from fees listed in Regulation R61-64 Title B.

      Section 44-1-220.  All skilled and intermediate care nursing facilities licensed by the Department of Public Health and Environmental Control shall be required to furnish an item-by-item billing for all charges to the patient or the person paying such bill, upon request by such patient or person.  Items which remain unpaid are not required to be itemized again.  Such requests for itemized billing shall remain in effect until further notification by the patient or person paying such bill.

Provided, that the provision herein shall not apply to the contracted amount of a state or federal agency.  Any amount above such contract shall be itemized as provided herein.

      Section 44-1-230.  The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control shall give consideration to any benefits available to an individual, including private, group or other insurance benefits, to meet, in whole or in part, the cost of any medical or health services.  Such benefits shall be utilized insofar as possible;

provided, however, the availability of such benefits shall not be the sole basis for determining eligibility for program services of the department.  Insurance carriers shall not deny payment of benefits otherwise available to the insured solely on the basis that an individual has applied for, or has been deemed eligible to receive, or has received, services, or on the basis that payments have been made for services by the department.

      Section 44-1-260.  Upon conducting an early periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment screening (EPSDT), or another physical examination of a child from which it is determined that the child may benefit from the use of assistive technology, the department or person conducting the screening or examination may refer the child to an appropriate agency for an assistive technology evaluation.  For purposes of this section, "assistive technology" means a device or service which is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capacities of an individual with a disability.  An "assistive technology device" is an item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, off the shelf, modified, or customized that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capacities of an individual with a disability including, but not limited to, aids for daily living, augmentative communication devices, wheelchairs, and mobility aids, seating and positioning aids, computer aids, environmental controls, home and workplace modifications, prosthetics and orthotics, or aids for vision or hearing impairments.  An "assistive technology service" is a service that directly assists an individual with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device.

      Section 44-1-280.  The Board and Department of Public Health and Environmental Control in establishing priorities and funding for programs and services which impact on children and families during the first years of a child's life, within the powers and duties granted to it, must support, as appropriate, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness initiative, as established in Title 59, Chapter 152, at the state and local levels.

      Section 44-1-290.  A corporation or person whose only purpose is furnishing, supplying, marketing, or selling treated effluent for irrigation purposes, shall not be considered a public utility for purposes of Title 58 by virtue of the furnishing, supplying, marketing, or selling of the treated effluent, provided that the effluent has not been permitted for consumption by the departmentDepartment of Environmental Services or other regulatory agency.

      Section 44-1-300.  The departmentDepartment of Agriculture shall not use any funds appropriated or authorized to the departmentDepartment of Agriculture to enforce Regulation 61-25 to the extent that its enforcement would prohibit a church or charitable organization from preparing and serving food to the public on their own premises at not more than one function a month or not more than twelve functions a year.

  E.

Section 44-1-310(A) and (J) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (A) The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control shall establish a Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Review Committee to review maternal deaths and to develop strategies for the prevention of maternal deaths.

The committee must be multidisciplinary and composed of members deemed appropriate by the department.

The committee also may review severe maternal morbidity.

The department may contract with an external organization to assist in collecting, analyzing, and disseminating maternal mortality information, organizing and convening meetings of the committee, and performing other tasks as may be incident to these activities, including providing the necessary data, information, and resources to ensure successful completion of the ongoing review required by this section.

      (J) Reports of aggregated nonindividually identifiable data for the previous calendar year must be compiled and disseminated by March first of the following year in an effort to further study the causes and problems associated with maternal deaths.

Reports must be distributed to the General Assembly, the Director of the Department of Public Health and Environmental Control, health carehealthcare providers and facilities, key governmental agencies, and others necessary to reduce the maternal death rate.

  F.

Section 44-1-310 of the S.C.

Code is amended by adding:

      (M) The Executive Office of Health and Policy shall have access to the data collected pursuant to Section 44-1-370 as necessary for the execution of duties of the Secretary of Health and Policy and in furtherance of the State Health Services Plan.

The Executive Office of Health and Policy shall not disclose this data except as permitted by law.

  G.

Section 44-1-315 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-1-315.  (A) For purposes of the section, "impacted location" means any facility issued or otherwise subject to a permit, license, or approval from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources that has now been determined to be located within the jurisdiction of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental ControlServices as a result of the amendments to Section 1-1-10, effective January 1, 2017.

    (B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental ControlServices, in issuing any environmental permit, license, or approval to an impacted location shall provide a schedule of compliance that allows the permittee a reasonable period of time to be no greater than five years to come into compliance with any South Carolina environmental rule, regulation, or standard established by the department or by law that has no corresponding rule, regulation, or standard under North Carolina law or regulation, or is more stringent than the corresponding rule, regulation, or standard established under North Carolina law or regulation.

The department may include increments of progress applicable in each year of the schedule established under this subsection, and may shorten the period of compliance as necessary to prevent an imminent threat to the public health and environment.

The department may extend a permittee's compliance schedule under this section beyond five years upon written application by the permittee only if the department determines that circumstances reasonably require such an extension, and the extension of time would pose no threat to public health or the environment.

  H.

Sections 44-1-30, 44-1-40, 44-1-50, 44-1-70, 44-1-143, 44-1-145, and 44-1-148 of the S.C.

Code are repealed.

  SECTION 9.  Article 1, Chapter 6, Title 44 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

  Article 1   General Provisions       Section 44-6-5.  As used in this chapter:

    (1) "Department" means the State Department of Health and Human Services.

    (2) "Office" means the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.

    (3) "Costs of medical education" means the direct and indirect teaching costs as defined under Medicare.

    (4) "Market basket index" means the index used by the federal government on January 1, 1986, to measure the inflation in hospital input prices for Medicare reimbursement.  If that measure ceases to be calculated in the same manner, the market basket index must be developed and regulations must be promulgated by the commission using substantially the same methodology as the federal market basket uses on January 1, 1986.  Prior to submitting the regulations concerning the index to the General Assembly for approval pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, the department shall submit them to the Health Care Planning and Oversight Committee for review.

    (5) "Medically indigent" means:

       (a) all persons whose gross family income and size falls at or below the federal Community Service Administration guidelines and who meet certain qualifying criteria regarding real property allowance, qualifying services, residency requirements, and other sponsorship, and migrant or seasonal farm workers who have no established domicile in any state;  and        (b) all persons whose gross family income and size falls between one hundred percent and two hundred percent of the Community Service Administration guidelines who meet certain other qualifying criteria regarding real property allowance, qualifying services, residency requirements, and other sponsorship and whose medical bill is sufficiently large in relation to their income and resources to preclude full payment.  For the purposes of this definition, the qualifying criteria for real property allowance shall permit ownership of up to fifty acres of farmland upon which the family has resided for at least twenty-five years.

    (6) "Net inpatient charges" means the total gross inpatient charges, minus the unreimbursed cost of medical education and the unreimbursed cost of providing medical care to medically indigent persons.  The cost of care provided by a hospital to meet its Hill-Burton obligation is not considered an unreimbursed cost of providing medical care to medically indigent persons.

    (7) "South Carolina growth index" means the percentage points added to the market basket index to adjust for the South Carolina specific experience.  The Health Care Planning and Oversight Committee shall complete a study which identifies and quantifies those elements which should be included in the growth index.  The elements may include, but are not limited to:  population increases, aging of the population, changes in the type and intensity of hospital services, technological advances, the cost of hospital care in South Carolina relative to the rest of the nation, and needed improvements in the health status of state residents.  Based on the study, the department shall develop and promulgate regulations for the annual computation of the growth index.  Prior to submitting the regulations concerning the index to the General Assembly for approval pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, the department shall submit them to the Health Care Planning and Oversight Committee for review.  Until a formula for computing the South Carolina growth index is promulgated, the annual index must be six and six-tenths percent which is equal to the average percentage difference between South Carolina hospital expenditures and the federal market basket index for the previous ten years.

    (8) "State resident" means a person who is domiciled in South Carolina.  A domicile once established is lost or changes only when one moves to a new locality with the intention of abandoning his old domicile and intends to live permanently or indefinitely in the new locale.

    (9) "Target rate of increase" means the federal market basket index as modified by the South Carolina growth index.

    (10) "General hospital" means any hospital licensed as a general hospital by the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

    (1) "Costs of medical education" means the direct and indirect teaching costs as defined under Medicare.

    (2) "Department" means the Department of Health Financing.

    (3) "General hospital" means any hospital licensed as a general hospital by the Department of Public Health.

    (4) "Market basket index" means the index used by the federal government on January 1, 1986, to measure the inflation in hospital input prices for Medicare reimbursement.  If that measure ceases to be calculated in the same manner, the market basket index must be developed and regulations must be promulgated by the department using substantially the same methodology as the federal market basket uses on January 1, 1986.  Prior to submitting the regulations concerning the index to the General Assembly for approval pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, the department shall submit them to the Healthcare Planning and Oversight Committee for review.

    (5) "Medically indigent" means:

       (a) all persons whose gross family income and size falls at or below the federal Community Service Administration guidelines and who meet certain qualifying criteria regarding real property allowance, qualifying services, residency requirements, and other sponsorship, and migrant or seasonal farm workers who have no established domicile in any state;

and        (b) all persons whose gross family income and size falls between one hundred percent and two hundred percent of the Community Service Administration guidelines who meet certain other qualifying criteria regarding real property allowance, qualifying services, residency requirements, and other sponsorship and whose medical bill is sufficiently large in relation to their income and resources to preclude full payment.  For the purposes of this definition, the qualifying criteria for real property allowance shall permit ownership of up to fifty acres of farmland upon which the family has resided for at least twenty-five years.

    (6) "Net inpatient charges" means the total gross inpatient charges, minus the unreimbursed cost of medical education and the unreimbursed cost of providing medical care to medically indigent persons.  The cost of care provided by a hospital to meet its Hill-Burton obligation is not considered an unreimbursed cost of providing medical care to medically indigent persons.

    (7) "Office" means the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.

    (8) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health and Policy.

    (9) "South Carolina growth index" means the percentage points added to the market basket index to adjust for the South Carolina-specific experience.

The elements of the South Carolina growth index may include, but are not limited to:  population increases, aging of the population, changes in the type and intensity of hospital services, technological advances, the cost of hospital care in South Carolina relative to the rest of the nation, and needed improvements in the health status of state residents.  Based on the study, the department shall develop and promulgate regulations for the annual computation of the growth index.

    (10) "State resident" means a person who is domiciled in South Carolina.  A domicile once established is lost or changes only when one moves to a new locality with the intention of abandoning his old domicile and intends to live permanently or indefinitely in the new locale.

    (11) "Target rate of increase" means the federal market basket index as modified by the South Carolina growth index.

      Section 44-6-10.

There is created the State Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing which shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Governor, upon the advice and consent of the SenateSecretary of Health and Policy.  The director is subject to removal by the Governorsecretary pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-3-240Section 44-12-50(B)(1).

      Section 44-6-30.

The department shall:

    (1) administer Title XIX of the Social Security Act (Medicaid), including the Early Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment Program, and the Community Long-Term Care System;

    (2) be designated as the South Carolina Center for Health Statistics to operate the Cooperative Health Statistics Program pursuant to the Public Health Services Act;

    (3) be prohibited from engaging in the delivery of services.

    (3) administer payments for programs as designated by the secretary;

    (4) be prohibited from engaging in the delivery of services.

      Section 44-6-35.

In administering home- and community-based waiver programs, the department shall, to the extent possible, maintain the waiver status of an eligible family member of a member of the armed services who maintains his South Carolina state residence, regardless of where the service member is stationed.

Consequently, a person on a waiver waiting list would return to the same place on the waiting list when the family returns to South Carolina.

Furthermore, the eligible family member previously enrolled in a waiver program and who received active services would be reinstated into the waiver program once Medicaid eligibility is established, upon their return to South Carolina.

It is not the intent of this section to authorize services provided outside the South Carolina Medicaid Service Area.

These provisions are contingent upon the department receiving federal approval.

      Section 44-6-40.

For all health and human services interagency programs provided for in this chapter, the department shall have the following duties:

    (1) Prepare and approve state and federal plans prior to submission to the appropriate authority as required by law for final approval or for state or federal funding, or both.

    Such plans shall be guided by the goal of delivering services to citizens and administering plans in the most effective and efficient ways possible.

    (2) Compile and maintain in a unified, concise, and orderly form information concerning programs provided for in this chapter.

    (3) Continuously review and evaluate programs to determine the extent to which they:

       (a) meet fiscal, administrative, and program objectives;  and        (b) are being operated cost effectively.

    (4) Evaluate plans and programs in terms of their compatibility with state objectives and priorities giving specific attention to areas outlined in Section 44-6-70.

    (5) Formulate for consideration and promulgation criteria, standards, and procedures that ensure assigned programs are administered effectively, equitably, and economically and in accordance with statewide policies and priorities.

    (6) Inform the Governor and the General Assemblysecretary as to the effectiveness of the criteria, standards, and procedures promulgated pursuant to item (5) of this section.

    (7) Develop in conjunction with other state agenciesCoordinate with the secretary in the development of an information system to provide data on comparative client and fiscal information needed for programs.

    (8) Develop a mechanism for local planning.

    (9) Obtain from participating state agenciesCoordinate with the secretary to obtain information considered necessary by the department to perform duties assigned to the department.

      Section 44-6-45.

The State Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing may collect administrative fees associated with accounts receivable for those individuals or entities which negotiate repayment to the agency.  The administrative fee may not exceed one and one-half percent of the amounts negotiated and must be remitted to the State Treasurer and deposited to the credit of the general fund of the State.

      Section 44-6-50.

In carrying out the duties provided for in Section 44-6-30, the department shall:

    (1) Contract for health and human services eligibility determination with performance standards regarding quality control as required by law or regulation.

    (2) Contract for operation of certified Medicaid management information claims processing system.  In reliance upon the prior notification published by the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) for any multi-statemultistate solicitation it issues, the Department of Health and Human Services or a successor agencyFinancing is authorized to award contracts and procure Medicaid systems and services using competitively solicited NASPO ValuePoint Master Cooperative Purchasing Agreements.  Sections 11-35-1520(3) and 11-35-4810(4) are not applicable.

    (3) Contract for other operational components of programs administered under this chapter as considered appropriate.

    (4) Monitor and evaluate all contractual services authorized pursuant to this chapter to assure effective performance.  Any contract entered into under the provisions of this chapter must be in accordance with the provisions of the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code.

    (5) Establish a procedure whereby inquiries from members of the General Assembly concerning the department's work and responsibility shall be answered as expeditiously and definitely as possible in coordination with the secretary.

      Section 44-6-70.

A state plan must be prepared by the department for each program assigned to it and the department must also prepare resource allocation recommendations based on such plans.  The resource allocation recommendations must be approved pursuant to state and federal law.  The state plans must address state policy and priority areas of service with specific attention to the following objectives:

    (a) Prevention measures as addressed in health and human services programs.

    (b) Achievement of a balanced health carehealthcare delivery system assuring that regulations, coverage, and reimbursement policies assure that while the most appropriate care is given, tailored to the client's needs, it is delivered in the most cost-effective manner.

    (c) Simplification of paperwork requirements.

    (d) Achievement of optimum cost effectiveness in administration and delivery of services provided quality of care is assured.

    (e) Improvement of effectiveness of third party reimbursement efforts.

    (f) Assurance of maximum utilization of private and nonprofit providers in administration and service delivery systems, provided quality of care is assured.

    (g) Encouragement of structured volunteer programs in administration and service delivery.

      Section 44-6-80.

The department must submit to the Governor, the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, and the Executive Budget Office, and the General Assemblysecretary an annual report concerning the work of the department including details on improvements in the cost effectiveness achieved since the enactment of this chapter and must recommend changes for further improvements.

    Interim reports must be submitted as needed to advise the Governor and the General Assemblysecretary of substantive issues.

      Section 44-6-90.

The department may promulgate regulations to carry out its duties.

Prior to submission of these regulations, the department must receive approval from the Secretary of Health and Policy.

    All state and local agencies whose responsibilities include administration or delivery of services which are covered by this chapter shall cooperate with the department and comply with its regulations.

      Section 44-6-100.  The department employees shall have such general duties and receive such compensation as determined by the director, with the authority given by the secretary.  The director shall be responsible for administration of state personnel policies and general department personnel policies of the Executive Office of Health and Policy.  The director shall have sole authority to employ and discharge employees subject to such personnel policies and funding available for that purpose.

    In all instances, the director shall serve as the chief administrative officer of the department and shall have the responsibility of executing policies, directives, and actions of the department either personally or by issuing appropriate directives to the employees.

    The goal of the provisions of this section is to ensure that the department's business is conducted according to sound administrative practice, without unnecessary interference with its internal affairs.  Public officers and employees shall be guided by this goal and comply with these provisions.

      Section 44-6-110.  A Medicaid provider, outside of the geographical boundary of South Carolina but within the South Carolina Medicaid Service Area, as defined by R.

126-300(B) of the Code of State Regulations, prior to the effective date of the amendments to Section 1-1-10, which are effective January 1, 2017, shall not lose status as a Medicaid provider as a result of the clarification of the South Carolina-North Carolina border.

      Section 44-6-115.  (A) Pharmacy services are a benefit under South Carolina Medicaid, subject to approval by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  The department shall establish a fee schedule for the list of pharmacy services.

    (B)(1) The following services are covered pharmacy services that may be provided to a Medicaid beneficiary:

           (a) dispensing self-administered hormonal contraceptives, as outlined and authorized in Section 40-43-230;  and            (b) administering injectable hormonal contraceptives, as outlined and authorized in Section 40-43-230.

       (2) Covered pharmacy services shall be subject to department protocols and utilization controls.

    (C) A pharmacist shall be enrolled as an ordering, referring, and dispensing provider under the Medicaid program prior to rendering a pharmacist service that is submitted by a Medicaid pharmacy provider for reimbursement pursuant to this section.

    (D) The director of the department shall seek any necessary federal approvals to implement this section.  This section shall not be implemented until the necessary federal approvals are obtained and shall be implemented only to the extent that federal financial participation is available.

    (E) This section does not restrict or prohibit any services currently provided by pharmacists as authorized by law including, but not limited to, this chapter or the Medicaid state plan.

  SECTION 10.A.

Section 44-6-140(A)(2) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (2) payment on a timely basis to the hospital by the commissiondepartment or patient or both, of the maximum allowable payment amount determined by the commissiondepartment;  and   B.

Section 44-6-146(A) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (A) Every fiscal year the State Treasurer shall withhold from the portion of the Local Government Fund allotted to the counties a sum equal to fifty cents per capita based on the population of the several counties as shown by the latest official census of the United States.  The money withheld by the State Treasurer must be placed to the credit of the commissiondepartment and used to provide Title XIX (Medicaid) services.

  C.

Section 44-6-150(A) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (A) There is created the South Carolina Medically Indigent Assistance Program administered by the department.  The program is authorized to sponsor inpatient hospital care for which hospitals shall receive no reimbursement.  A general hospital equipped to provide the necessary treatment shall:

       (1) admit a patient sponsored by the program;  and        (2) accept the transfer of a patient sponsored by the program from a hospital which is not equipped to provide the necessary treatment.

    In addition to or in lieu of an action taken affecting the license of the hospital, when it is established that an officer, employee, or member of the hospital medical staff has violated this section, the South Carolina Department of Public Health and Environmental Control shall require the hospital to pay a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars.

  D.

Section 44-6-170(A), (B), (C), and (I) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (A) As used in this section:

       (1) "Office" means the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.

       (2) "Council" means the Data Oversight Council.

       (3) "Committee" means the Joint Legislative Health Care Planning and Oversight Committee.

    (B) There is established the Data Oversight Council comprised of:

       (1) one hospital administrator;

       (2) the chief executive officer or designee of the South Carolina Hospital Association;

       (3) one physician;

       (4) the chief executive officer or designee of the South Carolina Medical Association;

       (5) one representative of major third-party health carehealthcare payers;

       (6) one representative of the managed health carehealthcare industry;

       (7) one nursing home administrator;

       (8) three representatives of nonhealth care-relatednonhealthcare-related businesses;

       (9) one representative of a nonhealth care-relatednonhealthcare-related business of less than one hundred employees;

       (10) the executive vice president or designee of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce;

       (11) a member of the Governor's office staff;

       (12) the director or his designee of the South Carolina Department of Public Health and Environmental Control;

       (13) the executive director or his designee of the State Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing.

    The members enumerated in items (1) through (10) must be appointed by the Governor for three-year terms andsecretary until their successors are appointed and qualify;  the remaining members serve ex officio.

The Governorsecretary shall appoint one of the members to serve as chairman.

The office shall provide staff assistance to the council.

    (C) The duties of the council are to:

       (1) make periodic recommendations to the committee and the General Assemblysecretary concerning the collection and release of health care-relatedhealthcare-related data by the State which the council considers necessary to assist in the formation of health carehealthcare policy in the State;

       (2) convene expert panels as necessary to assist in developing recommendations for the collection and release of health care-relatedhealthcare-related data;

       (3) approve all regulations for the collection and release of health care-relatedhealthcare-related data to be promulgated by the office;

       (4) approve release of health care-relatedhealthcare-related data consistent with regulations promulgated by the office;

       (5) recommend to the office appropriate dissemination of health care-relatedhealthcare-related data reports, training of personnel, and use of health care-relatedhealthcare-related data.

      (I) A person, as defined in Section 44-7-130, seeking to collect health carehealthcare data or information for a registry shall coordinate with the office to utilize existing data collection formats as provided for by the office and consistent with regulations promulgated by the office.  With the exception of information that may be obtained from the Office of Vital Records, Department of Public Health and Environmental Control, in accordance with Section 44-63-20 and Regulation 61-19 and disease information required to be reported to the Department of Public Health and Environmental Control underpursuant to Sections 44-29-10, 44-29-70, and 44-31-10 and Regulations 61-20 and 61-21 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no hospital or health carehealthcare facility or health carehealthcare professional required by this section to submit health carehealthcare data is required to submit data to a registry which has not complied with this section.

  E.

Section 44-6-170 of the S.C.

Code is amended by adding:

      (J) The Executive Office of Health and Policy shall have access to data collected pursuant to Section 44-6-170 as necessary for the execution of duties of the Secretary of Health and Policy and in furtherance of the State Health Services Plan.

The Executive Office of Health and Policy shall not disclose this data except as permitted by law.

  F.

Section 44-6-190 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-6-190.  The department may promulgate regulations pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.  Appeals from decisions by the department are heard pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, Administrative Law Judge, Article 5, Chapter 23 of, Title 1 of the 1976S.C.

Code.

    The department shall promulgate regulations to comply with federal requirements to limit the use or disclosure of information concerning applicants and recipients to purposes directly connected with the administration of the Medicaid program.

    Prior to submission of these regulations, the department must receive approval from the Secretary of Health and Policy.

  G.

Section 44-6-400 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-6-400.  As used in this article:

    (1) "Department" means the Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing.

    (2) "Nursing home" means a facility subject to licensure as a nursing home by the Department of Public Health and Environmental Control and subject to the permit provisions of Article 2, Chapter 7 of Title 44 and which has been certified for participation in the Medicaid program or has been dually certified for participation in the Medicaid and Medicare programs.

    (3) "Resident" means a person who resides or resided in a nursing home during a period of an alleged violation.

    (4) "Survey agency" means the South Carolina Department of Public Health and Environmental Control or any other agency designated to conduct compliance surveys of nursing facilities participating in the Title XIX (Medicaid) program.

  H.

Section 44-6-530 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-6-530.  Before instituting an action under this article, the Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing shall determine if the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services has jurisdiction under federal law.  In such cases, it shall coordinate its efforts with the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services to maintain an action against the nursing home.  In an action against a nursing home owned and operated by the State of South Carolina, the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services has exclusive jurisdiction.

  I.

Section 44-6-540 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-6-540.  The department is authorized to promulgate regulations, pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, to administer this article, and to ensure compliance with the requirements for participation in the Medicaid program.

Prior to submission of these regulations, the department must receive approval from the Secretary of Health and Policy.

  J.

Section 44-6-720(B)(4)(b)(iv) and (5) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (iv) other deductions provided in regulations of the State Health and Human Services Finance CommissionDepartment of Health Financing;

       (5) upon the death of the beneficiary, a remainder interest in the corpus of the trust passes to the State Health and Human Services Finance CommissionDepartment of Health Financing.

The commissiondepartment shall remit the state share of the trust to the general fund;

and   K.

Section 44-6-730 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-6-730.  The State Health and Human Services Finance CommissionDepartment of Health Financing shall promulgate regulations as are necessary for the implementation of this article and as are necessary to comply with federal law.

Prior to submission of these regulations, the department must receive approval from the Secretary of Health and Policy.

In addition, the commissiondepartment shall amend the state Medicaid plan in a manner that is consistent with this article.

  L.

Section 44-6-1010 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-6-1010.

There is created within the Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

The committee must consist of fifteen members appointed by the director and serving at the pleasure of the director of the department.

The members must include eleven physicians and four pharmacists licensed to practice in South Carolina and actively engaged in providing services to the South Carolina Medicaid population.  The physicians may include, but are not limited to, doctors who have experience in treating diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and hemophilia and who practice in internal medicine, primary care, and pediatrics.

  M.   Article 5, Chapter 6, Title 44 of the S.C.

Code is repealed.

  SECTION 11.A.

Section 44-7-77 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-7-77.

The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control and the State Department of Social Services, in conjunction with the South Carolina Hospital Association, shall develop and implement a program to promote obtaining voluntary acknowledgments of paternity as soon after birth as possible and where possible before the release of the newborn from the hospital.

A voluntary acknowledgment including those obtained through an in-hospital program shall contain the requirements of Section 63-17-60(A)(4) and the social security number, or the alien identification number assigned to a resident alien who does not have a social security number, of both parents, and must be signed by both parents.

The signatures must be notarized.

As part of its in-hospital voluntary acknowledgment of paternity program, a birthing hospital as part of the birth registration process, shall collect, where ascertainable, information which is or may be necessary for the establishment of the paternity of the child and for the establishment of child support.

The information to be collected on the father or on the putative father if paternity has not been established includes, but is not limited to, the name of the father, his date of birth, home address, social security number, or the alien identification number assigned to a resident alien who does not have a social security number, and employer's name, and additionally for the putative father, the names and addresses of the putative father's parents.

  B.

Section 44-7-80(6) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (6) "Department" means the Department of Public Health and Environmental Control.

  C.

Section 44-7-84 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-7-84.

(A) In the annual appropriations act, the General Assembly shall establish the maximum number of Medicaid patient days for which the department is authorized to issue Medicaid nursing home permits.

The State Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing shall provide the number of Medicaid patient days available to the department within thirty days after the effective date of the annual appropriations act.

    (B) Based on a method the department develops for determining the need for nursing home care for Medicaid patients in each area of the State, the department shall determine the distribution of Medicaid patient days for which Medicaid nursing home permits can be issued.

Nursing homes holding a Medicaid nursing home permit must be allocated Medicaid days based on their current allocation and available funds.

Requests for days must be submitted to the department no later than June fifteenth each year.

The department shall issue permits to the facilities by August first of each year.

The application must state the specific number of Medicaid patient days the nursing home will provide.

If a nursing home requests fewer days than the previous year, or is permitted fewer days, those days first must be offered to the facilities within the same county currently holding a Medicaid nursing home permit.

However, if Medicaid patient days remain available after being offered to those nursing homes currently holding a Medicaid patient days permit in that county, then existing nursing homes with a restricted Certificate of Need, within the same county, may apply for a Medicaid nursing home permit to receive the Medicaid permit days remaining available.

Following the initial allocation of Medicaid patient days, any additional Medicaid permit days must be credited to a statewide pool and the days must be allocated to those counties showing the greatest need based on the average number of fully eligible Medicaid nursing facility applicants by county in the Community Long TermLong-Term Care awaiting placement reports for the past twelve months.

The Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing shall provide this information to the department no later than July fifteenth of each year.

The Medicaid permit days must be proportionately allocated to each facility within the county that currently holds a Medicaid permit and is currently in compliance with its Medicaid permit.

A facility is deemed to be in compliance for allocation of these additional Medicaid permit days if it has not exceeded its stated Medicaid permit by more than seven percent.

In addition, a nursing home that provides less than ninety percent of the stated Medicaid permit in any fiscal year may not apply for additional Medicaid permit days in the next fiscal year.

If a nursing home fails to provide ninety percent of the stated Medicaid permit days for two consecutive fiscal years, the department may issue a Medicaid nursing home permit for fewer days than requested in order to ensure that the nursing home will serve the minimum number of Medicaid patients and that the State will optimize the available Medicaid days.

If a nursing home has its Medicaid patient days reduced, the freed days first must be offered to other facilities in the same county before being offered to other nursing homes in the State.

The department shall analyze the performance of nursing homes that are under the permit minimum or exceed the permit maximum for a fiscal year, including utilization data from the State Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing, anticipated back days, delayed payments, CLTC waiting list, and other factors considered significant by the department.

A nursing home which terminates its Medicaid contract must not be penalized for not meeting the requirements of this section if the nursing home was in compliance with its permit at the time of the cancellation.

Facilities designated as Special Focus Facilities may not be issued additional Medicaid permit days while they remain on the Special Focus list.

    (C) If the Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing or the General Assembly decreases the number of Medicaid patient days available to the department, the department shall proportionately decrease the authorized Medicaid patient days for each nursing home.

If additional Medicaid patient days are authorized in the following year, they must be restored proportionately to each nursing home in accordance with subsection (B).

  D.

Section 44-7-90 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-7-90.

(A) Based on reports from the State Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing, the department shall determine each nursing home's compliance with its Medicaid nursing home permit.

Violations of this article include:

       (1) a nursing home exceeding by more than five percent the number of Medicaid patient days stated in its permit;

       (2) the provisions of any Medicaid patient days by a home without a Medicaid nursing home permit.

    (B) A nursing home which exceeds its Medicaid patient days stated in its permit may be fined on the number of Medicaid patient days exceeding the permit days multiplied by its daily Medicaid per diem.

Medicaid permit days provided to Complex Care residents, as certified by the Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing, must not be counted against the facility's Medicaid permit for the first six months of their care.

Any complex care provided after six months must be counted toward the facility's Medicaid patient days under the permit days times their daily Medicaid per diem rate less the statewide average patient per diem recurring income times thirty percent.

Complex Care reimbursement must not be used in the fine calculation.

A facility may be fined incrementally for exceeding its Medicaid permit.

Violations above five and up to ten percent of the stated permit may be fined at thirty percent of its Medicaid per diem rate less the statewide average patient per diem recurring income times the number of excess Medicaid permit days.

A facility may be fined fifty percent of its Medicaid per diem rate less the statewide average patient per diem recurring income for each day above ten and up to fifteen percent of its Medicaid permit.

A facility may be fined seventy percent of its Medicaid per diem rate less the statewide average patient per diem recurring income for each day in excess of fifteen percent of its stated Medicaid permit.

A facility may appeal to the department any fine for days over its permit based on the facility's inability to discharge a resident based on the requirements of Section 44-7-88 if the facility can prove:

       (1) the resident's primary pay source upon admission was not Medicaid;

       (2) the resident did not convert to Medicaid within twenty days of being admitted as a Medicare or Medicaid replacement policy resident;  and        (3) the resident did not convert to Medicaid within thirty days of being admitted as a private pay resident.

    (C) In the event of a voluntary or involuntary discontinuation of participation of a nursing facility in the Medicaid program, the State must ensure that the facility provides for patient safety and freedom of choice.

The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control and the Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing must determine the availability of existing patient days statewide for the purpose of relocating these patients.

Based upon this determination, the department, at its discretion, may reallocate the patient days from a facility discontinuing its Medicaid participation to a facility that participates in the Medicaid program and agrees to accept the residents from the facility that is discontinuing Medicaid participation.

The Medicaid permit day shall permanently remain with the facility accepting the resident.

In the allocation of patient days from the facility discontinuing Medicaid participation, the department must give first priority to restoring a county's allocation where a facility holding a permit closes, or discontinues participation in Medicaid.

A nursing home receiving beds under the provisions of this subsection must not be a Special Focus Facility at the time of allocation.

    (D) Effective July 1, 2014, all All nursing facility providers holding a Medicaid permit must report their daily Medicaid resident census information to the South Carolina Department of Health and Human ServicesFinancing or its contractor for the purpose of maintaining a statewide bed locator and permit day tracking system.

    (E) Each Medicaid day above the allowable range is considered a separate violation.

A fine assessed against a nursing home must be deducted from the nursing home's Medicaid reimbursement.

  E.

Section 44-7-130(4) and (10) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (4) "Board" means the State Board of Health and Environmental ControlReserved.

      (10) "Department" means the Department of Public Health and Environmental Control.

  F.

Section 44-7-130 of the S.C.

Code is amended by adding:

      (26) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health and Policy.

  G.

Section 44-7-150(A)(3) and (5) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (3) adopt in accordance with Article I of the Administrative Procedures Act substantive and procedural regulations considered necessary by the department and approved by the boardsecretary to carry out the department's licensure duties under this article;

         (5) promulgate regulations, in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, that establish fees as authorized by this article.

Prior to submission of these regulations, the department must receive approval from the Secretary of Health and Policy.

  H.

Section 44-7-170(A) of the S.C.

Code is amended by adding:

      (5) the establishment or addition of inpatient psychiatric beds pursuant to an agreement with a South Carolina state agency to apply appropriated funds for increased access or availability of services.

  I.

Section 44-7-190 of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      Section 44-7-190.  (A) The department shall adopt, upon approval of the boardsecretary, Project Review Criteria which, at a minimum, must provide for the determination of need for health carehealthcare facilities, beds, services and equipment, including demographic needs, appropriate distribution, and utilization;  accessibility to underserved groups;  availability of facilities and services without regard to ability to pay;  absence of less costly and more effective alternatives;  appropriate financial considerations, including method of financing, financial feasibility, and cost containment;  consideration of impact on health systems resources;  site and building suitability;  consideration of quality of care;  and relevant special considerations as may be appropriate.

The Project Review Criteria must be adopted as a regulation pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.

    (B) The project review criteria promulgated in regulation must be used in reviewing all projects under the Certificate of Need process.

When the criteria are weighted to determine the relative importance for the specific project, the department may reorder the relative importance of the criteria no more than one time after the project review meeting.

When an application has been appealed, the department may not change the weighted formula.

    (C) Project review criteria must prioritize timely access to health care services and seek a balance between competition in the marketplace and regulation in the provision of health care and must support reasonable patient choice in health care facilities and services.  The department shall promulgate regulations within one year of the effective date of this act identifying how the department will incorporate these considerations in reviewing Certificate of Need applications.

  J.

Section 44-7-200(C), (D), and (E) of the S.C.

Code is amended to read:

      (C) Upon publication of this notice and until a contested case hearing is requested pursuant to Section 44-1-60(G):