Bill Text: NY S08907 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Direct the department of health to complete a report of the impact of hospital closures on healthcare access in the state.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-06 - referred to health [S08907 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08907-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8907

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 26, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. GONZALEZ, BAILEY, HINCHEY -- 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  instituting  a
          moratorium  on the closure of hospitals until the department of health
          completes a comprehensive analysis of the impact of such  closures  on
          healthcare access in New York state

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "2024 hospital closure moratorium act".
     3    §  2.  Legislative findings and declaration of emergency. The legisla-
     4  ture hereby finds and declares all of the following:
     5    1. The serious public emergency regarding hospital closures across New
     6  York state continues to exist, and this emergency puts individuals at  a
     7  heightened risk of death, illness, and economic hardship. These closures
     8  impact  both  public  and  private  healthcare  facilities, full-service
     9  hospitals, and critical care units.
    10    2. The legislature therefore finds  and  declares  that  in  order  to
    11  prevent  death, hardship, and other negative health outcomes to New York
    12  state residents, the provisions of this act  are  necessary  to  protect
    13  public  health, safety, and general welfare. The necessity in the public
    14  interest for the provisions hereinafter enacted is hereby declared as  a
    15  matter of legislative determination.
    16    §  3. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2831 to
    17  read as follows:
    18    § 2831. Hospital closure moratorium. 1. For purposes of this  section,
    19  "healthcare  facility" shall mean hospitals and other healthcare centers
    20  providing emergency  services,  intensive  care  services,  cardiac  and
    21  stroke  services, maternity services, cancer treatment services, psychi-
    22  atric emergency services, gender identity services, urgent care services
    23  and pediatric services.
    24    2. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule  or  regulation  to  the
    25  contrary,  the  state  shall  institute  a  moratorium on the closure of
    26  hospitals until the department completes a  statewide  report  examining

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15041-01-4

        S. 8907                             2

     1  the  aggregate  impact of such closures on healthcare access in New York
     2  state.  During such moratorium, no hospital shall close or reduce capac-
     3  ity below the hospital's capacity as of  the  date  the  moratorium  was
     4  imposed  unless  the department requests an exemption for the healthcare
     5  facility and said exemption is approved by the legislature.
     6    3. The report shall collect data including but not limited to:
     7    (a) statewide data on:
     8    (i) the number of healthcare facilities in each county;
     9    (ii) the average number of total and available hospital beds  in  each
    10  county;
    11    (iii)  the average number of medicare and Medicaid recipients, and the
    12  percentage of insured and uninsured patients served, by county;
    13    (iv) the number of medicare and Medicaid recipients, and the  percent-
    14  age of insured and uninsured patients served, by county;
    15    (v)  historical  and  projected market shares of all hospital networks
    16  and healthcare service providers in New York state; and
    17    (vi) the median distance between healthcare  facilities  that  provide
    18  similar services; and
    19    (b) data by healthcare facilities on:
    20    (i) the race, sex, gender, age, economic status, and disability status
    21  of patients served by each healthcare facility;
    22    (ii)  the number of medicare and Medicaid recipients, and the percent-
    23  age of insured and uninsured patients served;
    24    (iii) the number of physicians and professional staff employed at  the
    25  healthcare facility; and
    26    (iv)  access to the healthcare facility by public or private transpor-
    27  tation, including transportation sponsored by  the  healthcare  facility
    28  itself.
    29    4. In completing this report, the department shall meaningfully engage
    30  public  health experts, labor representatives of the hospital workforce,
    31  community leaders and residents of New York state. The findings of  such
    32  report  shall  be provided in electronic format and shall be distributed
    33  to the temporary president and minority leader of the senate, the speak-
    34  er and minority leader of the assembly, the chair of the senate standing
    35  committee on health, and the chair of the assembly health committee. The
    36  department shall publicly post the report on  the  department's  website
    37  within one week of the filing.
    38    5.  The  report  shall  use  the data collected to define and identify
    39  areas at risk of future hospital closures. These areas shall  be  desig-
    40  nated  "distressed healthcare zones". The department shall reject appli-
    41  cations for closures issued by healthcare facilities in  any  distressed
    42  healthcare  zone.  Distressed healthcare zones shall be prioritized when
    43  allocating healthcare spending.
    44    § 4. This act shall  take  effect  immediately.  The  commissioner  of
    45  health  and  the  public  health  and health planning council shall make
    46  regulations and take other actions  reasonably  necessary  to  implement
    47  this act.
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