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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1538 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2445 |
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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 | | Natalie M. Higgins and Margaret R. Scarsdale |
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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 preserving essential services in our hospitals. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester1/15/2025Margaret R. Scarsdale1st Middlesex1/15/2025Sally P. Kerans13th Essex1/21/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/10/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1538 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2445 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representatives Higgins of Leominster and Scarsdale of Pepperell, a petition (accompanied |
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| 19 | 19 | | by bill, House, No. 2445) of Natalie M. Higgins, Margaret R. Scarsdale and others relative to |
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| 20 | 20 | | essential services in hospitals. Public Health. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 4230 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act preserving essential services in our hospitals. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 Chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2amended by striking subsection (4) of section 51G and inserting in place thereof the following |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3section:- |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4 (4) Any hospital shall inform the department 90 days prior to the proposed closing of the |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5hospital or the proposed discontinuance of any essential health service provided therein. The |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6department shall by regulation define ''essential health service'' for the purposes of this section. |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7The department shall, in the event that a hospital proposes to discontinue an essential health |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8service or services, conduct a public hearing on the closure of said essential services or of the |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9hospital. The department shall determine whether any such discontinued services are necessary 2 of 2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10for preserving access and health status in the hospital's service area and if the department so |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11determines, the essential health service shall not be proposed for closure for three years. |
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