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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 61 FILED ON: 1/10/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1466 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Bruce E. Tarr |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act to protect essential health services. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 61 FILED ON: 1/10/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1466 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Tarr, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1466) of Bruce E. Tarr for legislation |
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| 19 | 19 | | to protect essential health services. Public Health. |
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| 20 | 20 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 21 | 21 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 1343 OF 2019-2020.] |
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| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
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| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
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| 27 | 27 | | An Act to protect essential health services. |
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| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 29 | 29 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 30 | 30 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 51G of Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended in |
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| 31 | 31 | | 2Subsection (4) by inserting, after the first sentence, the following:- |
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| 32 | 32 | | 3 Any such notification shall include, but not be limited to, the following: |
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| 33 | 33 | | 4 1. The reasons for which the closing or discontinuance is being proposed. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 5 2. An analysis of the economic feasibility of retaining the essential health service or |
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| 35 | 35 | | 6hospital and the economic impacts of the proposed closing or discontinuance |
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| 36 | 36 | | 7 3. An analysis of the clinical safety of retaining the essential health service or hospital |
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| 37 | 37 | | 8and any threats to public health and safety that would be caused by the proposed closing or |
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| 38 | 38 | | 9discontinuance 2 of 2 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 10 SECTION 2. Section 51G of Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended in |
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| 40 | 40 | | 11Subsection (4) by adding, after the word “services” in the fourth sentence the following:- |
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| 41 | 41 | | 12 The department may, if it determines that an essential health service can be retained in a |
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| 42 | 42 | | 13clinically safe manner without depriving the hospital of a fair net operating income, deny the |
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| 43 | 43 | | 14proposed discontinuance and require the retention of the essential health service either in its |
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| 44 | 44 | | 15original condition or any modification which the department deems to be satisfactory. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 16 In the event that a hospital proposed for closure is owned or controlled by an entity which |
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| 46 | 46 | | 17holds a license for facilities other than the hospital proposed for closure, and the department |
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| 47 | 47 | | 18determines that the hospital can be retained in a clinically safe manner and without depriving that |
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| 48 | 48 | | 19entity of a fair net operating income, the department may require the retention of said hospital |
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| 49 | 49 | | 20either in its original configuration or any modification which the department deems to be |
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| 50 | 50 | | 21satisfactory. |
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