Bill Text: NY A11072 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires a health equity assessment to be filed with an application for construction, or substantial reduction of, a hospital or health related service; includes a demonstration of whether and how a project will improve or affect access to hospital services and health care with particular reference to members of medically underserved groups in the applicant's service area.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-11-06 - print number 11072a [A11072 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A11072-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                        11072--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     October 7, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Gottfried,
          Reyes) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- commit-
          tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and  recom-
          mitted to said committee

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public health law, in relation to health equity
          assessments in the establishment or construction of a hospital

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
     2  2802-b to read as follows:
     3    § 2802-b. Health equity impact assessments. 1. Definitions. As used in
     4  this section:
     5    (a) "Application" means an application  under  this  article  for  the
     6  construction, establishment, change in the establishment, merger, acqui-
     7  sition,  closure,  or substantial reduction, expansion, or addition of a
     8  hospital service or health-related service of a hospital  that  requires
     9  review  or approval by the council or the commissioner, where the appli-
    10  cation is filed or submitted to the council,  the  commissioner  or  the
    11  department after this section takes effect.
    12    (b)  "Project"  means  the  construction, establishment, change in the
    13  establishment, merger, acquisition, closure, or substantial reduction of
    14  a hospital service or health-related service of a hospital that  is  the
    15  subject of an application.
    16    (c)  "Health equity impact assessment" or "impact assessment" means an
    17  assessment of whether, and if so how, a project will improve  access  to
    18  hospital services and health care, health equity and reduction of health
    19  disparities,  with  particular  reference to members of medically under-
    20  served groups, in the applicant's service area.
    21    (d) "Medically underserved group" means: low-income people; racial and
    22  ethnic minorities; immigrants; women; lesbian, gay, bisexual,  transgen-
    23  der,  or  other-than-cisgender  people;  people with disabilities; older
    24  adults; persons living with a prevalent infectious disease or condition;
    25  persons living in rural areas; people who are eligible  for  or  receive
    26  public health benefits; people who do not have third-party health cover-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD17431-02-0
        A. 11072--A                         2

     1  age or have inadequate third-party health coverage; and other people who
     2  are unable to obtain health care.
     3    2.  (a) Every application shall include a health equity impact assess-
     4  ment of the project. The impact assessment shall be filed together  with
     5  the  application,  and the application shall not be complete without the
     6  impact statement. The applicant  shall  promptly  amend  or  modify  the
     7  impact statement as necessary.
     8    (b)  In  considering  whether and on what terms to approve an applica-
     9  tion, the commissioner and the  council,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall
    10  consider the health equity impact statement.
    11    3.  Scope  and contents of a health equity impact assessment. A health
    12  equity impact assessment shall include:
    13    (a) A demonstration of whether, and if so how,  the  proposed  project
    14  will  improve access to hospital services and health care, health equity
    15  and reduction  of  health  disparities,  with  particular  reference  to
    16  members  of  medically  underserved  groups,  in the applicant's service
    17  area.
    18    (b) The extent to which medically underserved  groups  in  the  appli-
    19  cant's  service  area  use  the  applicant's  hospital or health-related
    20  services or similar services at the time  of  the  application  and  the
    21  extent to which they are expected to if the project is implemented.
    22    (c)  The  performance  of the applicant in meeting its obligations, if
    23  any, under section twenty-eight hundred  seven-k  of  this  article  and
    24  federal  regulations  requiring  providing uncompensated care, community
    25  services, and access by  minorities  and  people  with  disabilities  to
    26  programs receiving federal financial assistance, including the existence
    27  of any civil rights access complaints against the applicant, and how the
    28  applicant's meeting of these obligations will be affected by implementa-
    29  tion of the project.
    30    (d)  How  and  to  what extent the applicant will provide hospital and
    31  health-related services to the medically indigent, Medicare  recipients,
    32  Medicaid  recipients  and members of medically underserved groups if the
    33  project is implemented.
    34    (e) The amount of indigent care, both free and below cost,  that  will
    35  be provided by the applicant if the project is approved.
    36    (f)  Access  by public or private transportation, including applicant-
    37  sponsored  transportation  services,  to  the  applicant's  hospital  or
    38  health-related services if the project is implemented.
    39    (g)  The  means of assuring effective communication between the appli-
    40  cant's hospital and health-related service staff and people  of  limited
    41  English-speaking  ability  and  those  with  speech,  hearing  or visual
    42  impairments handicaps if the project is implemented.
    43    (h) The extent to which implementation  of  the  project  will  reduce
    44  architectural barriers for people with mobility impairments.
    45    (i) A review of how the applicant will maintain or improve the quality
    46  of hospital and health-related services including a review of:
    47    (i) demographics of the applicant's service area;
    48    (ii)  economic  status  of  the  population of the applicant's service
    49  area;
    50    (iii) physician  and  professional  staffing  issues  related  to  the
    51  project;
    52    (iv) availability of similar services at other institutions in or near
    53  the applicant's service area; and
    54    (v) historical and projected market shares of hospital and health care
    55  service providers in the applicant's service area.
        A. 11072--A                         3

     1    4.  The  health  equity  impact  assessment  shall be prepared for the
     2  applicant by an independent entity and include the meaningful engagement
     3  of public health experts, organizations representing  employees  of  the
     4  applicant,  stakeholders,  and  community  leaders  and residents of the
     5  applicant's service area.
     6    5.  The  department shall publicly post the application and the health
     7  equity impact assessment on the department's website within one week  of
     8  the filing with the department, including any filing with the council.
     9    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    10  it becomes a law.  Effective immediately, the commissioner of health and
    11  the public health and health planning council shall make regulations and
    12  take  other  actions  reasonably necessary to implement this act on that
    13  date.