§ 40-18-553 — Requirements for Eligible Rural Hospitals to Receive Qualified Donations

(a) In order to receive qualified donations as an eligible rural hospital under the program, a health care institution shall meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Be a rural general acute care hospital, a rural emergency hospital, or a critical access hospital licensed by the Alabama Department of Public Health pursuant to Section 22-21-22.
(2) Be in a location considered to be a rural area under the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ eligibility definition of “rural” as verified through the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy in the Rural Health Information website supported by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.
(3) Provide hospital services to both Medicare and Medicaid participants without discrimination.
(4) Provide hospital services to indigent patients, regardless of ability to pay.
(5) Be in compliance with all reports and audits required by law.
(6) Before any rural hospital organization is included on the list as eligible to receive contributions from the tax credit provided in this article, the organization shall submit to the board a five-year plan detailing the financial viability and stability of the rural hospital. The criteria to be included in the five-year plan shall be established by the board.
(b) A hospital shall only be eligible to receive assistance from the provisions of this article in a year in which the total support from the local governing body, in the form of direct tax revenue, budget appropriation, in-kind services, or other financial assistance, is equal to or more than 10 percent of the assistance provided to the local hospital under this article, with no more than five percent counted as in-kind contributions from the local governing body.

Legislative History

(Act 2025-404, §4.)