California Assembly Bill AB1350 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1350INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Salas FEBRUARY 27, 2015 An act to amend Section 101852 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to the health authorities. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1350, as introduced, Salas. Kern County Hospital Authority. The Kern County Hospital Authority Act authorizes the board of supervisors of the County of Kern to, among other things, establish, by ordinance, the Kern County Hospital Authority to manage, administer, and control the Kern Medical Center and for the operation of additional programs, clinics and other facilities, care organizations, physician practice plans, and delivery systems that may be affiliated or consolidated with the medical center. The act makes related findings and declarations. This bill would make nonsubstantive, technical changes to those findings and declarations. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 101852 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 101852. (a) This chapter shall be  known   known,  and may be  cited  cited,  as the Kern County Hospital Authority Act. (b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) Kern Medical Center, an acute care hospital currently operated as a constituent department of the County of Kern, is a designated public hospital, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 14166.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and a critical component of the state's health care safety net. (2)  Counties are   A county is    authorized under  current   existing  law to integrate  their   its  county hospital services with those of other hospitals into a system of community service that offers free choice of hospitals to those requiring hospital care, with the objective of eliminating discrimination or segregation based on economic disability, so that the county hospital and other hospitals in the community share in providing services to paying patients and to those who qualify for care in public medical care programs. However, in a new era of health care delivery, it is necessary to pursue approaches that transition beyond acute care-centric orientations. (3) The ongoing evolution of the health care environment requires public entities providing or arranging health care services to pursue innovative health care delivery models that proactively improve the quality of patient care services and patient experience, efficiently and effectively increase access to needed health care services across the care continuum, provide services in a patient-centered manner, and moderate the rate of growth of health care expenditures. (4) The board of supervisors of the County of Kern has determined that providing access to affordable, high-quality health care services, and ensuring the full engagement and viability of the health care safety net in the county are essential for improving the health status of the people of the County of Kern. To further this imperative, it is necessary that the Kern Medical Center, while continuing as a designated public hospital and maintaining its mission, is provided with an organizational and operational structure that facilitates and improves its ability to function with flexibility, responsiveness, and innovation to promote a patient-centric system of care delivery featuring community-based care. This can best be accomplished by allowing the operation of the Kern Medical Center, along with other health-related resources, under a new hospital authority that is able to pursue efforts towards a delivery system that embraces population health management strategies, is effectively positioned for health plan-provider alignment, and maximizes opportunities for employees and enhancement of staff morale. (5) This chapter is necessary to allow the formation of a public hospital authority for the purposes described above.