As used in this chapter, the term:

(1) "Essential rural health care provider" means any hospital, federally qualified health center, or rural health clinic, as such terms are defined in this Code section, which is located in a rural area and which complies with the provisions of Code Section 33-20B-3.

(2) "Federally qualified health center" means, for the purposes of this Code section, a facility which meets the definition of a federally qualified health center as described in Section 1395x(aa)(4) of Title 42 of the United States Code Annotated and which is located in a rural area.

(3) "Health benefit plan" or "plan" means the health insurance policy or subscriber agreement between a covered person or policyholder and a health care insurer which defines the covered services and benefit levels available.

(4) "Health care insurer" means an insurer, a fraternal benefit society, a health care plan, a nonprofit medical service corporation, a nonprofit hospital service corporation, a health care corporation, a health maintenance organization, or any other entity authorized to sell accident and sickness insurance policies, subscriber certificates, or other contracts of health insurance by whatever name called under this title.

(5) "Health care services" means services rendered or products sold by an essential rural health care provider within the scope of such provider's license or legal authorization.

(6) "Hospital" means any building or facility licensed by the department as a hospital under this chapter which:

(A) Operates no more than 100 beds;

(B) Provides 24 hour emergency care as well as a range of health care services sufficient to support the practice of a primary care physician; and

(C) For at least one of the immediately preceding two fiscal years, derived at least 40 percent of its patient revenues from medicare, Medicaid, or any combination of medicare and Medicaid.

(7) "Physician" for purposes of this Code section only means any person who is licensed to practice medicine by the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners pursuant to Chapter 34 of Title 43 who practices as a family physician, general internist, pediatrician, general practitioner, general surgeon, or obstetrician/gynecologist and who has medical staff privileges at a hospital as defined in paragraph (6) of this Code section.

(8) "Rural area" means any county having a population of less than 35,000 according to the United States decennial census of 1990 or any future such census.

(9) "Rural health clinic" means a facility which is located in a rural area and which meets the definition of a rural health clinic as described in Section 1395x(aa)(2) of Title 42 of the United States Code Annotated.