Hospitals

2025-2026 Bill 5173: Hospitals - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5173
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Hewitt, Bannister, G.M. Smith and M.M. Smith
Companion/Similar bill(s): 895
Document Path: LC-0429VR26.docx
Introduced in the House on February 11, 2026
Introduced in the Senate on April 16, 2026
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on
Medical Affairs
Summary: Hospitals
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

2/11/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 46
)

2/11/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Ways and Means
(
House Journal-page 46
)

4/2/2026

House

Committee report: Favorable
Ways and Means
(
House Journal-page 10
)

4/14/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: M.M. Smith

4/15/2026

House

Read second time (
House Journal-page 25
)

4/15/2026

House

Roll call Yeas-114 Nays-0 (
House Journal-page 25
)

4/16/2026

House

Read third time and sent to Senate (
House Journal-page 13
)

4/16/2026

Senate

Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 4
)

4/16/2026

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Medical Affairs
(
Senate Journal-page 4
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
02/11/2026
04/02/2026

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

Committee Report

April 2, 2026

H. 5173

Introduced
by Reps. Hewitt, Bannister and G. M. Smith

S. Printed 4/2/26--H.

Read the first time February 11, 2026

________

The committee on House Ways and
Means

To whom was referred a Bill (H. 5173) to amend
the South Carolina Code of Laws by amending Section
44-7-130
, relating to
healthcare facility definitions, so as to change the definition of hospital,
etc., respectfully

Report:

That they have duly and carefully considered
the same, and recommend that the same do pass:

B.W. BANNISTER for Committee.

statement of estimated fiscal impact

Explanation of Fiscal Impact

State Expenditure

This bill expands the definition of
hospitals in Article 3 of Chapter 7, Title 44, related to the State Health
Facility Licensure Act to include REHs. Effective January 1, 2023, REHs were
established as a new Medicare provider type pursuant to the federal
Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2021.

This bill will have no expenditure impact
on DHHS or DPH, as both agencies anticipate any responsibilities created by
this bill can be managed within existing staff and appropriations.

State Revenue

This bill may result in a minimal revenue
decrease for DPH. Regulation 60-16.201(G) requires an annual $10 licensure fee
per inpatient bed. If an eligible hospital transitions to REH designation, the
facility would no longer have inpatient beds, and therefore, no longer
contribute these fees. DPH anticipates this revenue loss will be minimal as only
a small number of hospitals with 50 or fewer beds are eligible for this
designation.

Local Expenditure

RFA contacted all forty-six counties
regarding this legislation and received responses from the counties of
Charleston, Dorchester, Florence, Horry, and Lancaster. These counties indicate
that the bill will have no expenditure impact.

Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director

Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office

_______

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION
44-7-130
, RELATING TO HEALTHCARE
FACILITY DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO CHANGE THE DEFINITION OF HOSPITAL.

W
hereas, the federal
government, by and through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
published a final rule, effective January 1, 2023, establishing Rural Emergency
Hospitals as a new Medicare provider type pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations
Acts of 2021; and

W
hereas, this
designation was created to respond to rural hospital closures and give rural
communities greater access to healthcare; and

W
hereas, it is the
intent of the General Assembly to clarify that this designation shall exist in
South Carolina in order to provide greater access to care in rural communities.
Now, therefore,

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
44-7-130
(17) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:

(
17) "Hospital" means a facility that
is organized and administered to provide overnight medical or surgical care or
nursing care for an illness, injury, or infirmity and must provide on-campus
emergency services; that may provide obstetrical care; and in which all
diagnoses, treatment, or care is administered by or under the direction of
persons currently licensed to practice medicine, surgery, or osteopathy.
This shall include all hospitals that convert to Rural
Emergency Hospitals pursuant to 42 C.F.R. Part 485 Subpart E and Section 125 of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

"
Hospital" may
include a residential treatment facility for children, adolescents, or young
adults in need of mental health treatment that is physically a part of a
licensed psychiatric hospital. This definition does not include facilities that
are licensed by the Department of Social Services. A residential treatment
facility for children, adolescents, or young adults in need of mental health
treatment that is physically part of a licensed psychiatric hospital is not
required to provide on-campus emergency services.

S
ECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on April 2, 2026 at 4:14 PM