Rhode Island § 23-14-3 - Childhood Disease Fund

§ 23-14-3. Childhood disease fund established — Uses of the fund.

(a) There is established a separate fund within the general fund to be called the childhood disease fund which shall be administered by the general treasurer in accordance with the same laws and fiscal procedures as the general funds of the state. The fund shall consist of sums collected as a result of the taxpayer check-off as provided for in section 44-30-2.3. The general treasurer is authorized to accept any grant, devise, bequest, donation, gift, or assignment of money, bonds, or other valuable securities for deposit in and credit of the childhood disease fund.

(b) The monies received under this chapter and § 44-30-2.3 shall be made available by the treasurer annually by September 30 to qualified organizations and shall be distributed equally among all qualified organizations certified by the department of health for the funding year.

(c) Upon distribution to qualified organizations, the monies shall be used exclusively for child disease victims and their families for eligible services and emergency services. Provided, however, that qualified organizations shall seek and are entitled to reimbursement from a health insurance program or publicly funded assistance program, for emergency services when the cost of emergency services would normally be provided for by the respective program.

(d) Any eligible organization which seeks qualified organization status for a funding year shall submit an application to the department of health not later than July 15 of the year for which they seek status. The application must include:

(1) The specific nature of the eligible and/or emergency services the eligible organization is proposing to provide and which group or classification(s) of child disease victims the services are proposed to be provided to;

(2) Eligible services that the eligible organization has provided in the past year or is currently providing and the annual cost of the services;

(3) Whether the monies sought under this chapter will be used to fund new or existing programs for eligible services; and

(4) Any other information the department of health deems necessary to facilitate the purposes of this chapter.

(e) Upon receipt of the annual application from eligible organizations as provided in this section, the director of the department of health shall review each application to determine if it complies with the intent and requirements of this chapter. Upon a finding by the director of the department of health that the application complies with the intent and requirements of this chapter, the director of the department of health shall certify that the eligible organization has been designated as a qualified organization for the funding year. The director of the department of health shall provide notice of approval or denial of certification not later than September 15 to each eligible organization that has submitted an annual application.

(f) The director of the department of health is authorized to promulgate any rules or regulations and prescribe forms necessary to facilitate the provisions of this chapter.