3646053 NOT-FOR-PROFIT HOSPITAL CORPORATIONNOTICE OF EMERGENCY AND PROPOSED RULEMAKINGContracts and Procurement

NOT-FOR-PROFIT HOSPITAL CORPORATION

NOTICE OF EMERGENCY AND PROPOSED RULEMAKING

The Board of Directors of the Not-for-Profit Hospital Corporation (Board), pursuant to authority granted by D.C. Official Code §§ 44-951.05(a) and 44-951.06(6), effective September 14, 2011, hereby gives notice of the adoption of the following emergency rules and of the intent to adopt final rulemaking. The rules will modify Chapter 46 in Title 27, “Contracts and Procurement,” in the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations entitled “Not-for-Profit Hospital Corporation Procurement Rules”.

 

Emergency action to adopt these rules is necessary in order to ensure that the Not-for-Profit Hospital (Hospital) does not pay any vendor that does not have a valid written contract.  The changes in this rulemaking will put in place the limitations on payment that were in place prior to March 2011 and better allow the Board, Hospital, and District government to monitor payments and control overall spending while maintaining a focus on continuity of critical and necessary patient care services.

 

Adoption of these emergency rules is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety and welfare, in accordance with D. C. Official Code § 2-505(c) (2001).

 

On August 31, 2012, the Board directed and authorized these modifications. These emergency rules will remain in effect for up to one hundred twenty (120) days after the date of adoption, December 29, 2012, or until publication of a Notice of Final Rulemaking in the D.C. Register, whichever occurs first. 

 

Section 4624 of CHAPTER 46, NOT-FOR-PROFIT-HOSPITAL CORPORATION PROCUREMENT RULES, of Title 27 is amended by adding subsections 4624.9 and 4624.10 as follows:

 

 

4624.9             No authorization for payment for supplies and services received without a valid written contract shall occur more than one (1) time with the same vendor.

 

4624.10           An authorization for payment for supplies and services received without a valid written contract may be used for obligations incurred after August 31, 2012, only if, in addition to the requirements of subsection 4624.8 of this section, the contracting officer certifies in writing that:

 

(a)                All payments requested are critical and necessary for the ongoing provision of medical care to patients; and

(b)               Under his or her good faith assessment, the Hospital must make the requested payment to continue operating the Hospital without interruption of critical and necessary patient care services.

Persons desiring to comment on these proposed rules should submit comments in writing to Frank DeLisi, III, CEO, Not-for-Profit Hospital Corporation, 1310 Southern Ave., S.E., Washington, DC 20032, or by Email to the CEO’s Executive Assistant: [e-mail], no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.  Copies of these proposed rules may be obtained between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the address stated above.