SECTION 567.33. Annual Public Hearing

(a) A hospital operating under a Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) shall conduct a live, annual public hearing that is held face-to-face either in-person or using synchronous audiovisual interaction between the meeting attendees to obtain input from the public regarding the hospital's COPA.

(1) The public hearing must occur no sooner than one month before and no later than the anniversary of the date the Texas Health and Human Services Commission issued the COPA.

(2) If the hospital operating under the COPA holds the hearing in-person, the hearing shall take place within the geographic service area of the hospital operating under the COPA. The location shall be open to the public.

(b) At least 14 calendar days before the public hearing, the hospital operating under the COPA shall publicly advertise the hearing's details, including its date, time, location, and method of participation, by:

(1) posting a notice on the website of each hospital operating under the COPA or on a different webpage available through a hyperlink that is located prominently on the website's home page;

(2) posting the information on each social media account maintained by each hospital operating under the COPA; and

(3) notifying local news media, including print, internet, and broadcast outlets.

(c) During the hearing, the hospital operating under the COPA shall receive oral and written comments from the public regarding the COPA.

(d) The hospital operating under the COPA shall make an audio and video recording of the hearing and maintain the recording for one year from the hearing date.

(e) The hospital operating under the COPA shall provide information about the hearing in the annual report required by §567.34 of this subchapter (relating to Annual Report), including:

(1) an unedited copy of the hearing recording required by subsection (d) of this section in a format accessible by HHSC;

(2) a summary of all oral and written comments received at the public hearing;

(3) a copy of any written comments received;

(4) any responses or actions planned in response to comments received;

(5) the number of persons who attended the hearing;

(6) the date and time of the hearing;

(7) the duration of the hearing; and

(8) the names and titles of all individuals representing the hospital at the hearing.

Source Note: The provisions of this §567.33 adopted to be effective January 1, 2023, 47 TexReg 8724