You have recently moved to a rural community that has a few doctors but no hospital.

You have recently moved to a rural community that has a few doctors but no hospital.  You are working as a consultant to healthcare businesses and thus can telecommute.  Since you love rural environments you have moved to this location. The residents have to drive 125 miles in order to go to a hospital.  Precious metals have been located in the area and it is anticipated that large companies will soon be locating in the area in order to mine the minerals, which will bring an influx of workers and families.  (This is not an environmental law class, so just assume all approvals are in place and this will happen within 2 years).  This will place a serious strain on the limited healthcare resources.   The mayor of the town has formed a task force to deal with this problem and knows that you have some background in healthcare law and regulations – certainly more than anyone else in the town.  And, to your surprise, everyone on the committee thinks you are the ideal person to be chair of the committee.

Your first task is to advise the committee on the following questions which it will need to discuss:

What type of or category of healthcare facility  should we have?

What are the implications of the type of facility on how services would be paid for?

What steps do we need to follow to get it licensed?

What accreditation should we get?

How should the ownership of our new healthcare facility be structured?   The town wants community involvement.

Should it be taxable or tax exempt?  How should the town make that decision?

If the town decides to form a tax exempt nonprofit entity, how should we structure its board?

How should we structure its physicians?

As you address each of these questions, remember to discuss the law and the implications