Rural Hospital Transformation Act — Supports the financial viability of the state’s rural hospitals. • Helps struggling hospitals develop business plans to ensure they are financially viable and continue to provide needed healthcare services. • It is a three-year pilot program with $1 million provided for each year for this purpose.  The legislation requires the Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) to establish and manage a rural hospital transformation program to assess viability, identify new delivery models, develop strategic partnerships, and implement operational changes. • It also requires ECD to identify contractors to provide consultations to “target hospitals” for the creation of transformation plans. • A transformation plan is a strategic plan developed by contractors in close collaboration with target hospitals and community stakeholders to provide recommendations and actionable steps for preserving healthcare services. • There are 66 acute-care, rural hospitals in Tennessee. •  It is estimated that 20 of these would qualify for a consultation with a contractor from ECD in order to develop a transformation plan.

Senate Bill 2646 / by Watson, Crowe, Massey Jackson, Briggs, Gresham, Green, Hensley, Pody, Reeves, Stevens / Status:  Public Chapter 1055 / Effective Date:  July 1, 2018