STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7082 IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 3, 2018 ___________ Introduced by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the closure of hospitals The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "local 2 input in community healthcare act". 3 § 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2801-i 4 to read as follows: 5 § 2801-i. Closure of hospitals. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of 6 law to the contrary, the closure of a general hospital or surrender of 7 an operating certificate pursuant to this article shall be subject to 8 review and approval by the commissioner. 9 2. (a) No later than thirty days after receipt of an application for 10 closure of a general hospital in a city with a population of one million 11 or more, the commissioner shall submit a written report to the community 12 board, the city planning commission, the city council member represent- 13 ing the area within which the facility is located, the president of the 14 borough within which the facility is located, the congressional repre- 15 sentative for the district in which the facility is located, and the 16 state senator and the assembly member representing the area within which 17 the facility is located, or the city department of health. Such written 18 report shall include: 19 (1) the anticipated impact of the general hospital's closure on access 20 to health care services by members of the surrounding communities, 21 including but not limited to recipients of medical assistance for needy 22 persons, the uninsured, and underserved populations; 23 (2) specific measures the department and other parties have taken or 24 would take to ameliorate such anticipated impact on the communities; 25 (3) any further recommendations regarding access to health care 26 services in communities impacted by the closure; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00446-03-7

S. 7082 2 1 (4) an assessment of the ability of the state to assume financial 2 responsibility or identify an alternate operator; and 3 (5) complete copies of the application or request for closure. 4 (b) The commissioner shall also make a full copy of such report avail- 5 able to the public on the department's website. 6 3. Such community board, city council member, state senator, assembly 7 member, congressional representative, and borough president, city plan- 8 ning commission, or city health department may review and make recommen- 9 dations based upon such written report by the commissioner within thirty 10 days of receipt thereof. Any recommendation by such community board, 11 city council member, state senator, assembly member, congressional 12 representative, borough president, or city planning commission, or city 13 health department of such city shall be submitted to the commissioner. 14 4. Upon any decision by the commissioner to approve or reject an 15 application for closure of a general hospital in a city with a popu- 16 lation of one million or more, the commissioner shall make available to 17 the public on the department's website a written report including: 18 (a) a summary of the issues raised pursuant to subdivision one of 19 section twenty-eight hundred one-g of this article and a summary of any 20 recommendations submitted by the community board, city council member, 21 state senator, assembly member, congressional representative, borough 22 president, city planning commission, or city health department pursuant 23 to subdivision three of this section; 24 (b) a statement of the reasons why any significant alternative recom- 25 mendations made pursuant to subdivision one of section twenty-eight 26 hundred one-g of this article and subdivision three of this section were 27 or were not incorporated into the final plan; 28 (c) a description of any changes made to the proposed plan as a result 29 of the issues raised pursuant to subdivision one of section twenty-eight 30 hundred one-g of this article and the recommendations submitted by the 31 community board, city council member, state senator, assembly member, 32 congressional representative, borough president, city planning commis- 33 sion, city health department or member of the public pursuant to subdi- 34 vision three of this section; and 35 (d) a complete copy of the proposed decision of the commissioner 36 regarding the closure of the hospital, including all proposed terms, 37 conditions and plans for providing health services to the affected 38 communities and populations. 39 5. The commissioner may only approve the application if he or she 40 reasonably determines that the needs of the community and impacted 41 stakeholders, including but not limited to access to emergency medical 42 care, can be adequately met. 43 6. No closure shall be approved under this section unless the commis- 44 sioner complies with the provisions of this section and the provisions 45 of section twenty-eight hundred one-g of this article. 46 7. The commissioner shall promulgate any rules necessary to effectuate 47 the provisions of this section. 48 § 3. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 2801-g of the public health law, 49 as added by chapter 541 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as 50 follows: 51 1. No later than [~~thirty~~] forty-five days after [~~the~~] an application 52 for closure of a general hospital, the commissioner shall hold a public 53 community forum for the purpose of obtaining public input concerning the 54 anticipated impact of the general hospital's closure on access to health 55 care services by members of the surrounding community, including but not 56 limited to recipients of medical assistance for needy persons, the unin-

S. 7082 3 1 sured, and underserved populations, and options and proposals to amelio- 2 rate such anticipated impact. The commissioner shall afford community 3 members, health care providers, labor unions, payers, businesses [~~and~~], 4 consumers, the community board, the city planning commission, the city 5 council member representing the area within which the facility is 6 located, the congressional representative for the district in which the 7 facility is located, the president of the borough within which the 8 facility is located, and the state senator and assembly member repres- 9 enting the area within which the facility is located, a reasonable 10 opportunity to speak about relevant matters at such community forum. The 11 commissioner shall also accept comments submitted in writing at such 12 public forum and by mail within a reasonable timeframe. At least ten 13 days prior to such community forum, the commissioner shall release 14 publicly and post on its website a complete copy of the commissioner's 15 report related to the closure required by subdivision two of section 16 twenty-eight hundred one-i of this article. 17 2. No later than [~~sixty~~] thirty days after holding a community forum 18 pursuant to subdivision one of this section, the commissioner shall make 19 available to the public on the department's website [~~information~~] a 20 written report regarding: 21 (a) the anticipated impact of the general hospital's closure on access 22 to health care services by members of the surrounding community, includ- 23 ing but not limited to recipients of medical assistance for needy 24 persons, the uninsured, and underserved populations; 25 (b) specific measures the department and other parties have taken or 26 will take to ameliorate such anticipated impact; [~~and~~] 27 (c) any further recommendations regarding access to health care 28 services in communities impacted by the general hospital's closure; and 29 (d) information about transitional medical services to the impacted 30 communities, including but not limited to arrangements for continuity of 31 care. 32 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

Relates to the closure of hospitals

What's Happening

Why It Matters