12 Grants
13 Payments to federal hospitals
14 Payments to contract hospitals
15 Payments to approved facilities and agencies
16 Payment for out-of-province hospitalization
17 Hospital surpluses and discretionary revenue
18 Hospital deficits
19 Health Insurance Supplementary Fund (Canada)
20 Capital project costs
21 Interest on capital project funding
23 Purchasing equity
25.1 Offence
26 Repeal
Interpretation
1(1) In this Regulation,
(a) “accredited educational institute” means a
high school, college, university or any other educational institution
recognized as such by the Minister for the purposes of this Regulation;
(b) “Act” means the Hospitals Act;
(c) “ancillary operations” means commercial
operations of a hospital that are approved by the Minister as ancillary
operations and that are not directly related to the care of patients,
including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the operation of
gift shops, barber shops, parking areas and television rentals;
(d) “approved facility” means a facility
approved by the Minister for the provision of insured services;
(e) “approved hospital operating expenditures”
means operating expenditures incurred in delivering approved hospital programs
during a fiscal year, but does not include
(i) an interest expense,
(ii) depreciation,
(iii) a bad debt,
(iv) a capital expenditure, except where it is
amortized over several years and where the capital expenditure and the
amortization period have been approved by the Minister as an approved hospital
operating expenditure,
(v) an expenditure with respect to a specific
program, or
(vi) any other expenditure identified by the
Minister as not being an approved hospital operating expenditure;
(f) “approved hospital program” means a hospital
program that has been approved by the Minister, but does not include a specific
program;
(g) “authorized charge” means a charge
prescribed in section 5;
(h) “bad debt” means a debt considered by the
hospital to be uncollectable;
(i) “board” means a board as defined in section
9(c) of the Act;
(j) “certificate of registration” means a
certificate of registration under section 24(2) of the Health Insurance
Premiums Act;
(k) “child” includes a foster child and any
other person in respect of whom a resident or another person stands in the
place of a parent;
(l) “dependant” means, in relation to a person,
(i) the spouse or adult interdependent partner
of that person,
(ii) each unmarried child under the age of 21
years who is wholly dependent on that person for support,
(iii) each unmarried child under the age of 25
years who is in full-time attendance at an accredited educational institute, or
(iv) each unmarried child of 21 years of age or
over who is wholly dependent on that person by reason of mental or physical
infirmity;
(m) “discretionary revenue” means revenue
received by a hospital board from the following sources:
(i) the following charges:
(A) in a general hospital
(I) preferred accommodation charges in excess of
the aggregate amount collected from that source during the 1982/83 fiscal year,
up to the aggregate amount collected from that source at rates not exceeding $8
per day for semi-private room accommodation or $16 per day for private room
accommodation,
(II) on and from May 1, 1990, 50% of any amount
collected in excess of $8 or $16, as the case may be, in daily authorized charges
for accommodation in semi-private and private rooms,
(III) from May 1, 1990 to June 30, 1990 the amount
in excess of $14 from each daily authorized charge collected pursuant to
section 5(8),
(IV) from July 1, 1990 to July 3, 1991 the amount
in excess of $16 from each daily authorized charge collected pursuant to
section 5(8), and
(V) on and from July 4, 1991 the amount from
each daily authorized charge collected pursuant to section 5(8) that is in
excess of the amount chargeable under section 5(8) in respect of standard ward
accommodation;
(B) repealed AR 243/91 s2;
(ii) donations that are not subject to any prior
trust conditions;
(iii) foundations;
(iv) user charges;
(v) net income from ancillary operations;
(vi) subject to section 21(4), as interest earned
on investments;
but
does not include revenue from authorized admission charges and preferred
accommodation charges levied by the Lloydminster General Hospital;
(n) “fiscal year” means the period from April 1
to March 31 next following;
(o) “foundation” means a foundation to which
Part 4 of the Act or Part 2 of the Provincial General Hospitals Act
applies, the University Hospitals Foundation, the Alberta Cancer Foundation or
any other foundation established under an enactment and approved by the
Minister as a foundation for the purposes of this Regulation;
(p) “hospital operating deficit” means the
excess of approved hospital operating expenditures over operating revenue in a
fiscal year;
(q) “hospital operating surplus” means the excess
of operating revenue over approved hospital operating expenditures in a fiscal
year;
(r) “newborn” means
(i) an infant newly born in the hospital, or
(ii) an infant newly born outside the hospital
and admitted with his mother when she was admitted for maternity service, and
who remained in the hospital as an in-patient,
but
does not include a stillborn infant,
(s) “offset revenue” means revenue from
(i) preferred accommodation charges up to the
aggregate amount collected from that source during the 1982/83 fiscal year,
(ii) on and from May 1, 1990, 50% of any amount
collected in excess of $8 or $16, as the case may be, in daily authorized
charges for accommodation in semi-private and private rooms,
(iii) from May 1, 1990 to June 30, 1990 the first
$14 of each daily authorized charge collected pursuant to section 5(8),
(iv) from July 1, 1990 to July 3, 1991 the first
$16 of each daily authorized charge collected pursuant to section 5(8),
(iv.1) on and from July 4, 1991 the amount from
each daily authorized charge collected pursuant to section 5(8) that is
equivalent to the amount chargeable under section 5(8) in respect of standard
ward accommodation,
(v) authorized charges under section 5(1)(d),
(vi) repealed AR 243/91 s2,
(vii) charges under section 9 to non-entitled
patients or cost recoveries with respect to non-entitled patients,
(vii.1) charges for goods and services provided by
the board in connection with non-insured health services referred to in section
5.1,
(vii.2) charges in excess of the cost of providing
enhanced goods and services referred to in section 5.2(1),
(viii) charges for equipment or space rentals,
(ix) charges for goods and services provided to
other institutions or organizations, or
(x) another source identified by the Minister as
being offset revenue;
(t) “operating grants” means grants made by the
Minister with respect to approved hospital operating expenditures;
(u) “operating revenue” means operating grants
granted for the fiscal year and offset revenue earned for the fiscal year, but
does not include discretionary revenue;
(v) “patient day” means the period of service to
an in-patient between midnight on one day and the following midnight, except
that
(i) the period of service on the day of admission
is a patient day, but the period of service on the day of separation is not a
patient day, and
(ii) where admission and discharge occur on the
same day, the period of service is one patient day;
(w) “preferred accommodation” means semi-private
rooms and private rooms in a general hospital;
(x) “prescribed form” means a form prescribed by
the Minister;
(y) “private room” means a room with not more
than one bed, as rated by the Minister;
(z) “registrant” means registrant as defined in
the Health Insurance Premiums Act;
(aa) “registration form” means the registration
form provided by the Minister under section 2;
(bb) “resident” means a person referred to in
section 1(p) of the Act;
(cc) “semi-private room” means a room with 2
beds, as rated by the Minister;
(dd) “specific program” means a program, other
than an approved hospital program, that in the opinion of the Minister is
eligible for a specific program grant;
(ee) “specific program grant” means a grant made
by the Minister with respect to a specific program;
(ff) “standard ward” means a room having more
than 2 beds as rated by the Minister;
(gg) “temporarily absent from Alberta” has the
same meaning as “temporarily absent” in the Alberta Health Care Insurance
Regulation (Alta. Reg. 216/81).
(2) A resident of Alberta
does not cease to be a resident by reason only of being temporarily absent from
Alberta.
(3) A person who is in
full-time attendance as a student at an accredited educational institute in
Alberta but whose ordinary place of residence is outside Canada is deemed to be
a resident if he intends to remain in Alberta for a period of 12 consecutive
months while registered as a student at an accredited educational institute in
Alberta.
(4) Subsection (3) does not
apply to dependants of a person referred to in subsection (3) who reside
outside Canada.
(5) Any person who
registers a dependant referred to in subsection (1)(l)(iv) shall, in respect of
that dependant, furnish to the Minister any proof of the dependant’s mental or
physical infirmity that the Minister requires.
(6) The Minister may, in
any particular case in which he finds that
(a) unforeseen and extenuating circumstances so
warrant, and
(b) the resident will return to Alberta,
extend
any period referred to in subsection (1)(gg), for any further period of time
that he determines proper.
AR
244/90 s1;243/91;126/92;138/92;162/95;251/2001;109/2003
Review by regional health authority
1.1 Where
a provision of this Regulation requires that the board of an approved hospital
obtain the approval of the Minister in respect of a proposed activity, the
Minister may, prior to giving approval, require that the proposed activity be
reviewed and approved by the regional health authority of the health region or
regions in which the board operates a hospital.
AR
401/94 s2
Registration
2(1) Where a
resident or his dependant is not registered with the Minister and receives an
insured service within the meaning of Part 3 of the Act, the hospital board
shall furnish the Minister with any information regarding the resident and his
dependants, if any, that is required by the Minister, in the prescribed form,
to enable the Minister to register the resident and his dependants.
(2) If a patient refuses or
is unable to give sufficient information for the hospital to complete the
prescribed form required under subsection (1), the hospital shall notify the
Minister and furnish the Minister with as much information as it can obtain.
(3) On admission to a
hospital, proof of registration is the responsibility of the patient or person
acting on his behalf.
(4) Where the
Minister registers a resident and his dependants pursuant to subsection (1), he
shall notify the hospital board of the registration number of the registrant or
dependant.
AR
244/90 s2
Certificate of registration
3 A
person registered with the Minister who receives an insured service pursuant to
Part 3 of the Act shall present his certificate of registration to the
appropriate official of the hospital.
AR
244/90 s3
Insured services
4(1) The
following goods and services, in addition to standard ward hospitalization, are
included in insured services under Part 3 of the Act:
(a) to in-patients,
(i) a semi-private or private room, where a
patient’s medical condition makes it necessary;
(ii) private nursing care for a patient where
ordered by the attending physician and approved in accordance with the
hospital’s by-laws;
(iii) subject to subsection (2)(f) and (g), drugs,
biologicals and related preparations when administered in a hospital, unless they are enhanced goods and services
referred to in section 5.2;
(iv) pacemakers, steelplates, pins, joint
prostheses, valve implants and any other goods approved by the Minister, unless they are enhanced goods and services
referred to in section 5.2;
(v) transportation in Alberta, whether by
ambulance or other commercial vehicle, to transport a patient in the
circumstances described in section 6;
(vi) goods and services included in an approved
hospital program or a specific program but not included in subclauses (i) to
(v), unless they are enhanced goods
and services referred to in section 5.2;
(vii) enhanced goods or services provided under
section 5.2(2);
(b) to out-patients, any medically necessary
goods and services that may be provided on an out-patient basis, including
goods used in a medical procedure but excluding goods provided to a patient for
use after discharge from an approved hospital or facility.
(2) The following services
are not insured services:
(a) examinations required for the use of third
parties, except as otherwise directed by the Minister;
(b) services that a resident is eligible to
receive under a statute of any other province, any Act of Alberta relating to
workers’ compensation or any statute of the Parliament of Canada, including
(i) the Aeronautics Act (Canada),
(ii) the Civilian War Pensions and Allowances
Act (Canada),
(iii) the Government Employees Compensation Act
(Canada),
(iv) the Merchant Seamen Compensation Act
(Canada),
(v) the National Defence Act (Canada),
(vi) the Pension Act (Canada),
(vii) the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act
(Canada), and
(viii) the Veterans Rehabilitation Act
(Canada);
(c) services that a resident is entitled to
receive under the Alberta Health Care Insurance Act, unless approved by
the Minister;
(d) services that a patient is declared not to
be in need of pursuant to section 31 of the Act;
(d.1) those services provided by the board in
connection with non-insured health services that are referred to in section 5.1;
(d.2) enhanced goods and services referred to in
section 5.2(1);
(e) laboratory and X-ray services performed in a
facility not approved by the Minister;
(e.1) services provided by a facility outside of
Canada (other than services provided in the case of an emergency) without the
prior approval of the Minister, unless the Minister directs otherwise;
(f) any drugs, biologicals and related
preparations that are not considered necessary for the proper treatment of
patients
(i) by the pharmacy-therapeutic committee of any
hospital,
(ii) by the joint pharmacy-therapeutic committee
of The Alberta Medical Association, The Alberta Pharmaceutical Association and
the Alberta Hospital Association in respect of any hospital having a rated
capacity of
(A) fewer than 180 beds, or
(B) 180 beds or more if, in the opinion of that
committee, this view represents the majority of the hospital
pharmacy-therapeutic committees or the practising physicians in the geographic
area of Alberta in which the hospital is located;
(g) any drugs, biologicals and related
preparations that, in the opinion of that joint committee, have not been proven
by experimental or clinical trials to be satisfactory for general use in
hospitals.
(3) Notwithstanding
subsection (2)(g), the joint committee may recommend limited experimental or
clinical trials under close supervision in order to determine whether or not
materials referred to in that clause should be approved for general use in
hospitals.
AR
244/90 s4;417/91;138/92;251/2001;141/2005
Authorized charges
5(1) A resident
of Alberta who is admitted as an in-patient to an approved hospital shall be
required to pay authorized charges at the following rates:
(a) in the case of a newborn who is not
considered to be in need of hospital care and who, at the request of the
Department of Children’s Services by reason of a consideration for adoption, is
retained in a hospital up to 15 days from date of birth, at the rate determined
by the Minister;
(b) in the case of a patient declared to be no
longer in need of the services provided by the hospital and deemed to be a
trespasser pursuant to the Act, the non-entitled rate of that hospital as
established by the Minister;
(c) in a general hospital, where preferred
accommodation is provided at the patient’s request, the patient will be
responsible for the authorized charges set out in subsection (7);
(d) in an auxiliary hospital, where a patient
has been assessed as requiring chronic care and is more or less a permanent
resident in the auxiliary hospital, the patient will be responsible for
accommodation charges for standard ward accommodation, semi-private room
accommodation or private room accommodation at the same rates as are prescribed
in section 3(1) of the Nursing Homes Operation Regulation (Alta. Reg.
258/85).
(1.1) Notwithstanding
subsection (1), a resident of Alberta who is admitted to an auxiliary hospital
as an in‑patient for the purpose of receiving palliative care or sub‑acute
care services shall not be required to pay an accommodation charge.
(1.2) The exemption in
subsection (1.1) ceases to apply if the patient is assessed as no longer
requiring palliative care or sub‑acute care services.
(2) Notwithstanding
subsection (1)(c) or (d), if the patient’s condition, due to medical necessity,
requires that the patient be cared for in a semi-private room or a private
room, the patient is not responsible for the additional charge between standard
ward and semi-private or private room accommodation.
(3) Subsection (7) does not
apply to a patient who has been assessed as requiring auxiliary hospital or
nursing home level care under subsection (8).
(4) Notwithstanding
anything in this section, for the purpose of levying authorized charges in an
approved general hospital, the board shall treat not less than 60% of the
accommodation in the hospital as if it were standard ward accommodation.
(5) Repealed AR 243/91 s3.
(6) Patients admitted to
semi-private accommodation in an auxiliary hospital on or before January 31,
1988 shall only be levied the standard ward charge for that semi-private
accommodation.
(7) Subject to subsection (8), in an
approved general hospital the authorized charges for preferred accommodation
shall be determined by the board of the regional health authority of the health
region in which the approved general hospital is situated.
(8) In a general hospital,
authorized charges in respect of standard ward accommodation, semi-private room
accommodation or private room accommodation may be made for a patient who has
been assessed as requiring auxiliary hospital or nursing home level care at the
same rates as are prescribed in section 3(1) of the Nursing Homes Operation
Regulation (Alta. Reg. 258/85).
(9) The charges set out in
subsection (8) commence on the day the patient is assessed as requiring
auxiliary hospital or nursing home level care and apply only to patients who
are assessed after January 31, 1988.
(10) A patient
(a) in an auxiliary hospital, or
(b) in a general hospital who has been assessed
as requiring auxiliary hospital or nursing home level care under subsection (8)
shall
not be charged for a private room unless the patient has requested a private
room and if the patient is occupying a private room but has not requested a
private room, the patient may be charged not more than the semi-private room
accommodation charge.
AR
244/90 s5;243/91;320/91;394/91;126/92;206/2001;267/2003;141/2005
Non-insured health services charges
5.1(1) If a person
receives in‑patient or out‑patient health services from a physician
in an approved hospital that are not insured services under the Alberta
Health Care Insurance Act, the board of that hospital shall charge that
person for goods and services provided by the board in connection with those
non‑insured health services.
(2) The amount
to be charged under subsection (1) shall be determined in accordance with
section 9.
AR
138/92 s4
Charges for enhanced goods and services
5.2(1) In
this section,
(a) “good
or service” does not include accommodation;
(b) “hospital”
means an approved hospital located in the region of the regional health
authority.
(2) A regional health authority may
determine
(a) whether
or not hospitals may charge a person who requests and receives an enhanced good
or service the cost of the enhanced good or service, and
(b) the
amount that hospitals may charge for an enhanced good or service, but in no
case may the charge exceed the actual cost of the good or service plus a
reasonable administrative allowance.
(3) If, due to a medical necessity as determined by
the patient’s attending physician, a patient requires an enhanced good or
service, the patient is not responsible for the cost of that enhanced good or
service.
AR
138/92 s4;141/2005
Patient transportation
6(1) Charges for
the transportation referred to in section 4(1), resulting from a temporary
transfer of a patient
(a) from a general hospital to another general
hospital or to a mental health hospital, an auxiliary hospital, a nursing home
or an approved facility, or
(b) from an auxiliary hospital to a general
hospital, a mental health hospital, another auxiliary hospital, a nursing home
or an approved facility,
is the responsibility of the general hospital or
auxiliary hospital from which the patient is transferred.
(2) A charge for the
transportation resulting from a permanent transfer within Alberta
(a) from a general hospital to another general
hospital or to a mental health hospital, an auxiliary hospital, a nursing home
or an approved facility, or
(b) from an auxiliary hospital to a general
hospital, a mental health hospital, another auxiliary hospital, a nursing home
or an approved facility,
is
the responsibility of the general hospital or the auxiliary hospital
discharging the patient, and a charge shall not be made to the patient.
(3) For the
purposes of this section, “mental health hospital” means a Mental Health
Hospital established or continued by or under the Provincial General
Hospitals Act.
AR
244/90 s6
7 and 8 Repealed
AR 162/95 s3.
Charges to non-entitled persons
9(1) A person who
is not entitled under the Act to receive insured services and who is admitted
as an in-patient to an approved hospital other than the Lloydminster General
Hospital shall pay
(a) the patient day standard ward fees approved
for the hospital by the Minister, in the case of a non-entitled person who is a
resident of Canada, or
(b) the patient day standard ward fees approved
for that purpose by the Minister in the case of a non-entitled person who is a
non-resident of Canada.
(2) A person who is not entitled
under the Act to receive insured services and who receives goods or services as
an out-patient in an approved hospital or an approved facility shall pay a fee
for the out-patient goods or services provided in accordance with a schedule of
fees approved by the Minister.
(3) Repealed AR 260/91 s2.
(4) Every person who is not
entitled under the Act to receive insured services and who is provided
semi-private room accommodation or private room accommodation shall be charged
(a) the patient day semi-private room
accommodation rate or the patient day private room accommodation rate in
accordance with section 5, in the case of a non-entitled person who is a
resident of Canada, or
(b) the patient day semi-private room
accommodation rate or the patient day private room accommodation rate approved
for that purpose by the Minister in the case of a non‑entitled person who
is a non-resident of Canada.
(5) The rate
charged for a non-entitled newborn retained in hospital after 30 days shall be
the approved adult rate of that hospital established by the Minister.
AR
244/90 s9;260/91;136/97
10 and 11 Repealed
AR 162/95 s3.
Grants
12(1) The Minister
may make grants in respect of the operation of approved hospitals.
(2) Repealed AR 162/95 s4.
(3) Any payments by a
hospital in respect of the interpretation of X-ray, laboratory and other
diagnostic procedures shall only be made under contract or agreement with a
qualified radiologist or pathologist or such other medical personnel as are
recommended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Province of
Alberta.
(4) The Minister shall not
pay for insured services that are furnished to a person
(a) who is entitled to receive them or the cost
of them pursuant to an Act of any jurisdiction, other than the Act,
(b) who was eligible to have become entitled to
them from some other province, or
(c) while he is declared pursuant to Part 2 of
the Act to be not in need of active treatment hospitalization.
AR
244/90 s12;162/95
Payments to federal hospitals
13 The
Minister shall pay federal hospitals in respect of the costs of insured
services furnished to residents and their dependants at the rates established
for each hospital, in accordance with agreements between the Minister and the
federal hospital.
AR
244/90 s13
Payments to contract hospitals
14 The
Minister may make contracts with hospitals, other than approved hospitals,
situated in Alberta to provide insured services to residents and their
dependants and shall pay the hospitals at rates specified in the
contracts.
AR
244/90 s14
Payments to approved facilities and agencies
15(1) The Minister
may make payments to the operator of an approved facility at a rate agreed on
by the Minister and the operator.
(2) The Minister
may make payments to The Canadian Red Cross Society and the Canadian Blood
Agency/Agence Canadienne du Sang for services approved by the Minister.
AR
244/90 s15;144/92
Payment for out-of-province hospitalization
16(1) Subject to
section 4(2), the Government shall pay the following amounts in respect of
goods and services provided outside Alberta to residents of Alberta who are
temporarily absent from Alberta or entitled to continuing coverage under the Alberta
Health Care Insurance Act by virtue of section 14 of the Alberta Health
Care Insurance Regulation (Alta. Reg. 216/81), which goods and services if
provided in Alberta would be insured services:
(a) for goods or services provided in Canada to
in-patients or out-patients in hospitals, except for the Lloydminster General
Hospital, or in any other facility approved by the Minister, at the rate that
is approved by the health care insurance plan of the province in which the
goods or services are provided, unless the Minister has entered into an
agreement with the government of any province to apportion the cost between
them in a different manner;
(b) for goods or services provided outside
Canada by a hospital operating under the law of the jurisdiction in which it is
located or by another facility approved by the Minister, to in-patients or
out-patients, at the lesser of the rates prescribed by the Minister and the
rates charged by the hospital or facility.
(2) In prescribing the
rates under subsection (1)(b), the Minister may take into account the size,
standards of service and type of hospitals and other relevant factors.
(3) For the purposes of
this section, services to a patient who is admitted as an in-patient on the
same day or during the first visit to a hospital shall not be classified as
out-patient services.
(4) In this section,
“health care insurance plan” has the same meaning as in the Canada Health
Act (Canada).
(5) Where a resident has
paid his out-of-province hospital or facility account and submits satisfactory
evidence of payment, the resident shall be reimbursed in accordance with the
amount established under this section.
(6) Where a resident has
not paid his out-of-province hospital or facility account and submits
satisfactory evidence of receipt of goods or services, the hospital or facility
that provided the goods or services shall be paid in respect of those goods or
services in accordance with the amount established under this section.
(7) Subject to an agreement
referred to in subsection (1)(a), payment for out-of-province goods or services
shall be made only if a resident or his agent completes the required
application form and provides a satisfactory hospital or facility account and a
medical statement that shows the diagnosis and, if surgery was performed, the
name of the operation.
(8) Where a resident, in respect
of one particular illness or accident, obtains goods or services outside
Alberta extending more than 3 months from the date the first of the goods or
services were received, the resident or a person acting on his behalf shall,
within that 3-month period, notify the Minister of the reasons why continuation
of out-of-province care is necessary and shall provide any details the Minister
may request.
(9) When the Minister
receives claims with respect to goods or services referred to in subsection
(8), the Minister may
(a) continue the payment in respect of the goods
or services,
(b) prescribe the period in which payment will
continue to be made, or
(c) terminate the payment in respect of the
goods or services.
(10) Where a
resident fails to comply with subsection (8) and no arrangements have been made
to return the resident to Alberta as soon as practicable, the Minister may
terminate payments under this section with respect to that illness or accident
at any time after 3 months from the date the first of the goods or services
were provided.
AR
244/90 s16;417/91
Hospital surpluses and discretionary revenue
17(1) Hospital
operating surpluses and discretionary revenue remaining after a board complies
with subsections (2) and (3) may be used
(a) for any purpose within the authority of the
board that will benefit the hospital, and
(b) if the hospital has a foundation, for
transfers to the foundation.
(2) Hospital operating
surpluses shall be returned to the Minister to the extent that they are attributable
to a reduction or transfer of services, programs or activities that have not
been approved by the Minister or to duplicate payments or overpayments made by
the Minister.
(3) Discretionary revenue
and hospital operating surpluses, other than those that must be returned to the
Minister under subsection (2), may be retained by the board and shall be used
to offset hospital operating deficits and deficits for programs other than
approved hospital programs.
(4) The board of
an approved hospital may not make an appropriation or disposition from hospital
operating surpluses or discretionary revenue under this section without the
written approval of the Minister.
AR
244/90 s17;401/94
Hospital deficits
18 If a
hospital operating deficit incurred during a fiscal year cannot be absorbed
through the use of accumulated hospital operating surpluses or discretionary
revenue, the board shall, within 4 months after the commencement of the next
following fiscal year, submit a plan to the Minister outlining how the hospital
operating deficit will be absorbed during the next 2 fiscal years following the
fiscal year in which the deficit was incurred.
AR
244/90 s18
Health Insurance Supplementary Fund (Canada)
19 The
Minister may participate in the Health Insurance Supplementary Fund (Canada) in
respect of residents of Alberta who through no fault of their own have ceased
to be entitled to benefits or are not eligible for benefits.
AR
244/90 s19
Capital project costs
20(1) In this
section and in sections 21 and 25,
(a) “capital costs” includes the following
capital projects costs, in whole or in part:
(i) the approved cost of construction, expansion
or renovation of a hospital or hospital related building,
(ii) the approved cost of construction of
(A) staff residences and health services clinics
in isolated areas of Alberta, as determined by the Minister, and
(B) parking structures,
(iii) the cost of essential services approved by
the Minister including, but not limited to,
(A) roads and sidewalks,
(B) gravelled parking lots, including essential
lighting,
(C) all grading, levelling and spreading of
existing top soil,
(D) mechanical and electrical services from site
boundaries to buildings, including fire protection,
(E) outdoor signs, and
(F) necessary demolition of existing buildings
obstructing approved construction,
(iv) the approved cost of construction
contingencies,
(v) approved consulting fees incurred for the
project, and
(vi) approved
(A) furniture and equipment allowances,
(B) administrative planning costs, and
(C) pre-opening expenses
related
to a project;
(b) “CCITF” means the Consolidated Cash
Investment Trust Fund;
(c) repealed AR 189/96 s2;
(d) “minor construction” means a capital
construction project for which the estimated capital project costs are
initially established at less than $2 500 000.
(2) An expenditure by a
board for capital project costs, whether funded through the issue of debentures
or otherwise,
(a) for other than minor construction, is
subject to prior approval by the Treasury Board, and
(b) for minor construction requiring a minor
construction grant, is subject to prior approval by the Minister.
(3) Borrowing by a board,
whether through the issue of debentures or otherwise, in respect of capital
project costs is subject to prior approval by the Minister.
(4) If debentures have been
issued by a board for capital project costs approved under subsection (2), the
Minister shall make grants to the board with respect to repayment of principal
and interest on the debentures.
(5) If debentures have not
been issued by a board for capital project costs approved under subsection (2),
the Minister shall make grants to the board with respect to payment of the
capital project costs.
(6) Repealed AR 189/96 s2.
(7) Grants in respect of
approved capital project costs necessarily incurred prior to the commencement
of the construction phase may be made on a reimbursement basis.
(8) Except as provided in
subsection (7), grants referred to in subsection (5) shall be paid in advance
by the Minister into the CCITF to the credit of the board.
(9) Funds received through
the issue of debentures shall be deposited in the CCITF account.
(10) Funds received from
federal sales tax and excise tax refunds shall be deposited in the CCITF account.
(11) Funds in the CCITF
account may be expended only for capital project costs.
(12) The unexpended balance
in the CCITF account shall be refunded by the board to the Minister of Finance
following completion of the project audit or as directed by the Minister.
(13) The Minister
may make grants to the Lloydminster Hospital Board under this section and the
grants shall be based on that portion of the approved interest and principal
payments for which Alberta municipalities are responsible under the terms of
the Lloydminster Hospital Act, the Hospitals Act and agreements
or arrangements made under either or both of those Acts between the Minister
and the Minister of Health for Saskatchewan.
AR
244/90 s20;162/95;189/96;77/2000;27/2002
Interest on capital project funding
21(1) Grants by
the Minister to a board with respect to interest on debt resulting from capital
project costs shall be based on the rate contracted by the board borrowing from
an agency other than the Alberta Capital Finance Authority, or at the rate
charged by the Alberta Capital Finance Authority at the date the financing
contract was entered into by the board, whichever is the lesser.
(2) Subject to subsection
(4), all interest earned on the CCITF account shall remain in that account
until disposed of in accordance with section 20 and this section.
(3) Approved expenditures
for interest by a board on short-term borrowings for capital project costs may
be reimbursed from the CCITF account.
(4) Interest earned on
grants made under section 20 with respect to capital project costs may be
expended only
(a) to offset capital interest expenses related
to that project, or
(b) if authorized by the Minister, instead of
grants due under section 20(5).
AR
244/90 s21;108/2004
22 Repealed
AR 162/95 s3.
Purchasing equity
23(1) In this
section, “agreement” means the agreement between the Minister and the owner of
a non-district hospital, that establishes
(a) the method of calculating the amount of the
owner’s equity in a non-district hospital on January 1, 1959 and annually after
that date,
(b) the procedure for purchasing the owner’s
equity, and
(c) the method of calculating the amount to be
paid annually by the Minister to the owner as a return on the owner’s equity.
(2) The Minister shall pay
to a hospital board designated by the Minister to assume ownership of a
non-district hospital purchased in accordance with an agreement
(a) the amount of the purchase price of the
owner’s equity on the date that ownership is relinquished, and
(b) interest on the purchase price of the
owner’s equity calculated at a rate established by the Alberta Capital Finance
Authority from time to time for the period commencing on the date that
ownership of the hospital is relinquished by the owner and ending on the
closing date of the purchase of the hospital.
(3) The Minister may
purchase real and personal property that is considered by him to be necessary
for the continued operation of the hospital.
(4) The Minister
shall pay to the owner of a non-district hospital interest on the owner’s
equity calculated annually in accordance with an agreement.
AR
244/90 s23;108/2004
24 and 25 Repealed
AR 189/96 s2.
Offence
25.1 A
person who contravenes section 17(4) or 20(2) or (3) is guilty of an offence
and liable to a fine of not more than $2000 in the case of a first offence and
$5000 in the case of a subsequent offence.
AR
401/94 s5;162/95
Repeal
26 The Alberta
Hospitalization Benefits Regulations (Alta. Reg. 355/73) are repealed.
AR
244/90 s26