Amended  IN  Assembly  March 18, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1895

Introduced by Assembly Member Weber

January 23, 2024

An act to relating to public health. add Section 1255.28 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to health facilities.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1895, as amended, Weber. Public health: maternity ward closures.
Existing law establishes the licensure and regulation of health facilities by the State Department of Public Health, including, among others, general acute care hospitals. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Under existing law, a general acute care hospital is required to provide certain basic services, including medical, nursing, surgical, anesthesia, laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, and dietary services. Existing law authorizes a general acute care hospital to provide various special or supplemental services if certain conditions are met. Existing regulations define a supplemental service as an organized inpatient or outpatient service that is not required to be provided by law or regulation. Existing law requires a health facility to provide 90 days of public notice, with specified requirements, of the proposed closure or elimination of a supplemental service, such as maternity services.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to address maternity ward closures. require an acute care hospital that offers maternity services, when those services are at risk of closure, as defined, in the next 12 months to provide specified information to the Department of Health Care Access and Information as well as the State Department of Public Health, including, but not limited to, the number of medical staff and employees working in the maternity ward and the hospital’s prior and projected performance on financial metrics. The bill would require this information be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law. The bill would require, within 6 months of receiving this notice from the hospital, the Department of Health Care Access and Information, in conjunction with the State Department of Public Health, to conduct a community impact assessment to determine the 3 closest hospitals offering maternity services in the geographic area and their distance from the at-risk facility. The bill would require the hospital to provide public notice of the potential closure, including the results of the community impact assessment, and other specified information on the hospital’s internet website 90 days in advance of the proposed closure. The bill would require the public to be permitted to comment on the potential closure for 60 days after the notice is given, and would require at least one noticed public hearing be conducted by the hospital. The bill would also require the hospital to accept written public comment. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NOYES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 1255.28 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

1255.28.
 (a) (1) If a general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, that offers the supplemental service of maternity services, as included in Section 70067 of Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Division 5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, determines those services are at risk of closure in the next 12 months, as determined by the hospital pursuant to the factors described in subdivision (b), the hospital shall report the following information to the State Department of Health Care Services, the Department of Health Care Access and Information, the State Department of Public Health, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, and the chair of the Assembly Committee on Health:
(A) The number of medical staff and employees working in the maternity ward.
(B) The number of deliveries per month over the past 12 months at the maternity ward.
(C) The number of patients served over the past 12 months who have commercial insurance.
(D) The number of patients served over the past 12 months who had Medi-Cal or Medicare.
(E) The hospital’s prior and projected performance on financial metrics from the past 12 months.
(2) The information provided pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be kept confidential to the extent permitted by applicable law.
(b) When assessing the risk of closure of maternity services, a hospital shall consider factors, including, but not limited to, financial distress, workforce shortages, decreased demand in services, and birthing volume.
(c) The Department of Health Care Access and Information, in conjunction with the State Department of Public Health, shall conduct a community impact assessment regarding the closure. The community impact assessment shall determine the three closest hospitals offering maternity services in the geographic area, and their distance from the at-risk facility. The community impact assessment shall be completed within six months of notice from the hospital that the maternity services are at risk of closure. The community impact assessment shall be provided to the public with the public notice described in subdivision (d).
(d) If the maternity services of a general acute care hospital are at risk of closure, the hospital shall provide public notice of the potential closure, including the results of the community impact assessment described in subdivision (c), and the information required by subdivision (b) of Section 1255.25. The public notice shall be posted on the hospital’s internet website 90 days in advance of the proposed closure. The public shall be permitted to comment on the potential closure for 60 days after the notice is given, and within this period at least one noticed public hearing shall be conducted by the hospital. The hospital shall also accept written public comment.

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
SECTION 1.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to address maternity ward closures.