PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor

Ch. 154

CHAPTER 154
(House Bill 522)

AN ACT concerning

Hospice Care Programs

FOR the purpose of requiring the regulations adopted by the Secretary of Health and
Mental Hygiene governing general hospice care programs to be comparable to
certain standards; authorizing the Secretary to impose certain administrative
penalties; requiring the Secretary to adopt certain regulations and conduct a certain
study; authorizing the Secretary to establish a peer review program for hospice care
programs; requiring the Secretary to consult with certain persons; providing that
certain regulations adopted under this Act must be adopted by a certain date and may
not take effect for a certain period; authorizing the Secretary to charge certain fees;
and generally relating to hospice care programs.

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,
Article - Health - General
Section 19-903 and 19-911
Annotated Code of Maryland
(1990 Replacement Volume and 1994 Supplement)

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article - Health - General

19-903.

(a)     (1) The Secretary shall adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this
subtitle.

(2) THE REGULATIONS FOR GENERAL HOSPICE CARE PROGRAMS
SHALL SET STANDARDS FOR GENERAL HOSPICE CARE PROGRAMS THAT ARE
COMPARABLE TO THE STANDARDS ESTABLISHED BY THE NATIONAL HOSPICE
ORGANIZATION.

[(2)] (3) The Secretary, by regulation, after consultation with interested
groups, including The Hospice Network of Maryland, Inc., shall establish standards for
the operation of a [home-based] hospice care program.

(b)     (1) The regulations shall set qualifications for medical directors of hospices.
A medical director of a hospice care program need not be an employee or a contractee of
a hospice care program.

(2) The regulations for a hospice facility shall require:

(i) The medical director to be a physician licensed to practice
medicine in this State;

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