A bill for an act relating to specialty hospital designations for certain nonprofit organizations.

This bill creates a new "specialty hospital" designation for nonprofit hospitals that exclusively serve patients under 30 years old, with over 60% receiving Medicaid (chapter 249A), specializing in pediatric rehabilitation and behavioral health conditions. It requires these hospitals to establish objective medical criteria for patient admissions and discharges, while exempting them from standard hospital requirements like emergency services, lab services, and construction standards (retaining prior services only). The bill mandates that Iowa’s health departments set inpatient reimbursement rates based on the hospital’s actual daily costs (adjusted for inflation) and provide notice of negative federal Medicaid changes, collaborating to mitigate impacts. This directly affects qualifying nonprofit pediatric hospitals transitioning from nursing facilities to specialty designations by July 2025.