[ad_1]
The state Senate passed legislation on Tuesday that would require more oversight of hospitals trying to shut down services after making changes to the proposal that specify the types of closures subject to oversight.
The Senate passed the Local Input in Community Healthcare Act, approving the bill within days of the end of this legislative session. The bill, which has been circulating for almost a decade, sets out clear guidelines for hospitals aiming to shutter emergency care, maternity units or mental health services. New guidelines would require hospitals to present their closure plans to the public nine months before a shutdown, as well as host a town hall five months before a closure.
While the bill took a major step in the Senate on Tuesday, it has yet to be passed in the Assembly.
Lawmakers passed the bill after it went through a series of amendments last week to specify the types of hospital closures that require more oversight. The bill requires greater transparency of closures that could reduce patient capacity by a sizable measure – 15% in a year, 25% in two years or 35% in three years, according to the legislation.
But the bill also specifies that hospitals could avoid the new transparency measures if they have a “good cause,” such as a plan for a temporary closure to upgrade their facility, labor shortages that put patients at risk, or an “acute financial emergency” outside the hospital’s control.
The Local Input in Community Healthcare Act was introduced by Senate health chair Gustavo Rivera and Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon in March. Legislators and community advocates cited a need for the bill in light of the planned closure of a handful of medical facilities including Beth Israel in the Lower East Side, SUNY Downstate’s University Hospital in East Flatbush and Samaritan Hospital’s Burdett Birth Center in Troy.
The planned closures sparked outcry from advocates and community members who depend on the hospitals for care and said current closure protocols leave them in the dark. That outcry ultimately tabled the closure of SUNY Downstate and Burdett Birth Center. But it has not derailed Mount Sinai’s plans, with the health system doubling down on its plans to close Beth Israel next month.
Although the Local Input in Community Healthcare Act aims to address closure protocols that leave out members of the communities that hospitals serve, it would not apply to plans that have already been submitted, including Mount Sinai’s plan for Beth Israel. The decision to exclude pending closure plans from this process was a change from the original version of this bill, according to a source familiar with the situation.
[ad_2]
Amanda D'Ambrosio , 2024-06-06 11:33:04
Source link
