(a) Excluded from this subchapter are offices of physicians, dentists, or other practitioners of the healing arts, meaning the physical places that are occupied by such providers on a regular basis in which such providers perform the range of diagnostic and treatment services usually performed by such providers on an outpatient basis unless they are subject to review under subdivision 9434(a)(4) of this title.

(b) Excluded from this subchapter are community mental health or developmental disability center health care projects proposed by a designated agency and supervised by the Commissioner of Mental Health or the Commissioner of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, or both, depending on the circumstances and subject matter of the project, provided the appropriate Commissioner or Commissioners make a written approval of the proposed health care project. The designated agency shall submit a copy of the approval with a letter of intent to the Board.

(c) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to offices owned, operated, or leased by a hospital or its subsidiary, parent, or holding company, outpatient diagnostic or therapy programs, kidney disease treatment centers, independent diagnostic laboratories, cardiac catheterization laboratories, radiation therapy facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, and diagnostic imaging facilities and similar facilities owned or operated by a physician, dentist, or other practitioner of the healing arts.

(d) Excluded from this subchapter are redesignations, designation revocations, and collaborative agreements of home health agencies subject to the supervision of the Commissioner of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living under 33 V.S.A. chapter 5.

(e) Upon request under 8 V.S.A. § 5102(f) by a Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) authorized under federal Medicare law, or by a Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan (PIHP) or Prepaid Ambulatory Health Plan (PAHP) established in accordance with federal Medicare or Medicaid laws and regulations, the Board may approve the exemption of the PACE program, PIHP, or PAHP from the provisions of this subchapter and from any other provisions of this chapter if the Board determines that the purposes of this subchapter and the purposes of any other provision of this chapter will not be materially and adversely affected by the exemption. In approving an exemption, the Board may prescribe such terms and conditions as the Board deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this subchapter and this chapter.

(f) Excluded from this subchapter are routine replacements of nonmedical equipment and fixtures, including furnaces, boilers, refrigeration units, kitchen equipment, heating and cooling units, and similar items. These replacements purchased by a hospital shall be included in the hospital's budget and may be reviewed in the budget process set forth in subchapter 7 of this chapter. (Added 1979, No. 65, § 1; amended 1981, No. 233 (Adj. Sess.), § 14a, eff. May 4, 1982; 1985, No. 234 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1989, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2003, No. 53, § 11; 2005, No. 57, § 5, eff. June 13, 2005; 2005, No. 71, § 77d; 2005, No. 88 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Feb. 15, 2006; 2005, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 50; 2007, No. 15, § 18; 2007, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 2011, No. 171 (Adj. Sess.), § 16a, eff. Jan. 1, 2013; 2017, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.)