BILL NUMBER: SB 1297	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 5, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 2, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hueso

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act to add Section 128767 to the Health and Safety Code,
relating to health facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1297, as amended, Hueso. Hospital Safety and Transparency Act
of 2014.
   Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health
facilities, including hospitals, by the State Department of Public
Health. Existing law requires a hospital, as defined, to report
summary financial and utilization data, as specified, to the Office
of Statewide Health Planning and Development within 45 days of the
end of  the  every calendar quarter.
   This bill would require the Office of Statewide Health Planning
and Development to publish on its Internet Web site historical and
current information collected by state and federal regulators about
hospitals. The bill would also make related findings and
declarations.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Hospital Safety and Transparency Act of 2014.
  SEC. 2.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) The state and federal government play an important oversight
role in ensuring minimum safety standards are met by health
facilities and that public funds are properly used.
   (2) The findings of these reviews are dispersed across multiple
state entities, often in multiple locations and varying in formats.
As a result, consumers and other interested members of the public do
not have access to a comprehensive profile of a hospital's status and
performance on quality and compliance with state and federal laws.
   (3) Despite the state's existing efforts to collect and publish
individual hospital facility data reported to the state, the state
could improve upon its efforts to consolidate findings from its
reviews and sanctions of individual hospital providers alongside
already reported data on hospitals.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development expand on its current
hospital reporting functions as set forth in Part 5 (commencing with
Section 128675) of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code.
  SEC. 3.  Section 128767 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   128767.   From records in its possession, the 
 The  office shall publish on its Internet Web site
historical and current information collected by state and federal
regulators about hospitals, including, but not limited to,
information regarding Medi-Cal  program withholds 
 payment suspensions  pursuant to Section 14107.11 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, and provider preventable conditions
pursuant to Parts 434, 438, and 447 of Title 42 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.