1. (a) The Director of the Department of Health ("Department") shall create a registration process for the following entities:

   1. (1) A private office facility, clinic, or other establishment with no operating room where a health professional or group of health professionals provide primary care services, specialty care services, or dental services according to the applicable scope of practice of the health professional's licensure;
   2. (2) A virtual provider network or virtual telehealth platform operating in the District; and
   3. (3) A federally qualified health center, as defined in section 1861(aa)(4) of the Social Security Act, approved July 30, 1965 (79 Stat. 313; 42 U.S.C. § 1395x(aa)(4)), or an entity that has been determined by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the United States Department of Health and Human Services to meet the definition of a federally qualified health center, but does not receive funding under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act, approved October 11, 1996 (110 Stat. 3626; 42 U.S.C. § 254b) ("federally qualified health center look-alike").

2. (b) The registration process shall:

   1. (1) Take less than a median of 10 business days for the Department to review and approve once a completed application has been submitted, unless the Department notifies the applicant of an issue;
   2. (2) Require that the facility submit to the Department only information that is accessible and reasonable, such as its physical location, names of providers, provider capacity, and types of insurance accepted;
   3. (3) Not require registration renewal more frequently than every 3 years; and
   4. (4) Not require a registration or renewal fee above $100 per year of registration; provided, that the Department may adjust this fee periodically to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor through rulemaking.
3. (c) A new entity that meets the requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall register with the Department before beginning operation.
4. (d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, existing entities that meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this section for registration shall have 2 years from the effective date of this section to complete the registration process.
5. (e) Entities that own or operate more than one physical location shall complete the registration process for each location separately.
6. (f) The revenue generated from the registration or renewal fees under subsection (b) of this section shall be placed in the Health Occupations Regulation Fund, established by § 7-733.

Applicability of D.C. Law 26-7: § 4 of D.C. Law 26-7 provided that the creation of this section by § 3(a)(1) of D.C. Law 26-7 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

History

Feb. 24, 1984, D.C. Law 5-48, § 3a

June 10, 2025, D.C. Law 26-7, § 3(a)(1)

Applicability

Applicability of D.C. Law 26-7: § 4 of D.C. Law 26-7 provided that the creation of this section by § 3(a)(1) of D.C. Law 26-7 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

Section 7197 of D.C. Act 26-146 repealed Section 4 of D.C. Law 26-7, thus removing the applicability limitation. Therefore the creation of this section by §3(a)(1) of D.C. Law 26-7 has been implemented.

Section 7197 of D.C. Act 26-210 repealed Section 4 of D.C. Law 26-7, thus removing the applicability limitation. Therefore the creation of this section by §3(a)(1) of D.C. Law 26-7 has been implemented.

Section 7197 of D.C. Law 26-55 repealed Section 4 of D.C. Law 26-7, thus removing the applicability limitation. Therefore the creation of this section by §3(a)(1) of D.C. Law 26-7 has been implemented.