Bill Text: CA SB196 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Emergency medical services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2010-01-19 - Stricken from Senate file. [SB196 Detail]
Download: California-2009-SB196-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 196 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 9, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 18, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Hayashi)
FEBRUARY 23, 2009
An act to amend Sections 1255.1, 1255.2, and 1255.25 of the Health
and Safety Code, relating to emergency medical services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 196, Corbett. Emergency medical services.
Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health
administers provisions governing the licensure and regulation of
health facilities, including hospitals. A violation of these
provisions is a crime. Existing law requires any hospital that
provides emergency medical services to provide notice of any intended
elimination or reduction of emergency services as soon as possible,
but not later than 90 days prior to a planned elimination or
reduction in services to the department, the local government agency
in charge of health services, and specified entities under contract
with the hospital to provide the services. Existing law requires a
health facility that implements a downgrade or closure to make
reasonable efforts to ensure that the community served by the
facility is informed.
This bill would, instead, require the notice to be provided 120
days prior to the planned reduction or elimination of the level of
emergency medical services, and would require the notice to also be
provided to all employees of the hospital. It would also require that
the hospital provide public notice of, and hold a minimum of 3
public meetings on, the intended change in a manner that is likely to
reach a significant number of residents of the community served by
the facility.
The bill would also require that any health facility implementing
a downgrade or change hold a minimum of 3 public meetings, as
specified, to inform and ensure that the community served by its
facility is informed of the downgrade or closure.
Existing law requires, with a certain exception, not less than 30
days prior to closing a general acute care or psychiatric hospital,
eliminating a supplemental service, or relocating the provision of a
supplemental service to a different campus, the hospital to provide
certain notice regarding the proposed closure, elimination, or
relocation to the public and the applicable administering department,
in accordance with certain procedures.
This bill would, instead, require the notice regarding the
proposed closure, elimination, or relocation to be provided to the
public and the applicable administering department, in accordance
with certain procedures, 60 days prior to closing a general acute
care or psychiatric hospital, eliminating a supplemental service, or
relocating the provision of a supplemental service to a different
campus.
Because the bill creates a new crime, it 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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1255.1 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
1255.1. (a) Any hospital that provides emergency medical services
under Section 1255 shall, as soon as possible, but not later than
120 days prior to a planned reduction or elimination of the level of
emergency medical services, provide notice of the intended change to
the department, the local government entity in charge of the
provision of health services, all employees of the hospital, and all
health care service plans or other entities under contract with the
hospital to provide services to enrollees of the plan or other
entity.
(b) In addition to the notice required by subdivision (a), the
hospital shall, within the time limits specified in subdivision (a),
provide public notice of and hold public meetings in accordance with
Section 1255.2 on the intended change in a manner that is likely to
reach a significant number of residents of the community serviced by
that facility.
(c) A hospital shall not be subject to this section or Section
1255.2 if the state department does either of the following:
(1) Determines that the use of resources to keep the emergency
center open substantially threatens the stability of the hospital as
a whole.
(2) Cites the emergency center for unsafe staffing practices.
SEC. 2. Section 1255.2 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
1255.2. A health facility implementing a downgrade or change
shall hold a minimum of three public meetings to inform and ensure
that the community served by its facility is informed of the
downgrade or closure. In addition to public meetings, the facility
implementing a downgrade or change shall make reasonable efforts that
may include, but not be limited to, advertising the change in terms
likely to be understood by a layperson, soliciting media coverage
regarding the change, informing patients of the facility of the
impending change, and notifying contracting health care service plans
as required in Section 1255.1. At the second public meeting the
facility shall inform the public of the status of the change. A
facility that is also planning a closure or eliminating a
supplemental service and is required to provide notice pursuant to
Section 1255.25 shall hold the second public meeting as soon after
this notice as is practicable.
SEC. 3. Section 1255.25 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
1255.25. (a) (1) Not less than 60 days prior to closing a health
facility, as defined in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 1250, or
eliminating a supplemental service, as defined in Section 70067 of
Chapter 1 of Division 5 of Title 22 of the California Code of
Regulations, the facility shall provide public notice of the proposed
closure or elimination of the supplemental service, including a
notice posted at the entrance to all affected facilities and a notice
to the department and the board of supervisors of the county in
which the health facility is located.
(2) Not less than 60 days prior to relocating the provision of
supplemental services to a different campus, a health facility, as
defined in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 1250, shall provide
public notice of the proposed relocation of supplemental services,
including a notice posted at the entrance to all affected facilities
and notice to the department and the board of supervisors of the
county in which the health facility is located.
(b) The notice required by paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a)
shall include all of the following:
(1) A description of the proposed closure, elimination, or
relocation. The description shall be limited to publicly available
data, including the number of beds eliminated, if any, the probable
decrease in the number of personnel, and a summary of any service
that is being eliminated, if applicable.
(2) A description of the three nearest available comparable
services in the community. If the health facility closing these
services serves Medi-Cal or Medicare patients, this health facility
shall specify if the providers of the nearest available comparable
services serve these patients.
(3) A telephone number and address for each of the following,
where interested parties may offer comments:
(A) The health facility.
(B) The parent entity, if any, or contracted company, if any, that
acts as the corporate administrator of the health facility.
(C) The chief executive officer.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), this section shall
not apply to county facilities subject to Section 1442.5.
SEC. 4. 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.
