BILL NUMBER: AB 2942	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 13, 2008

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member  Berg   Ma 

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2008

    An act to amend Section 137 of the Health and Safety
Code, relating to health.   An act to amend Sections
127345, 127350, a   nd 127360 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to hospitals. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2942, as amended,  Berg   Ma  .
 Women's health.   Hospitals: community
benefits.  
   Existing law requires certain licensed acute care hospitals to
complete a community needs assessment evaluating the health needs of
the community served by the hospital, to annually adopt a benefits
plan for providing community benefits, as defined, and to submit the
annual community benefit plan to the Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development. Under existing law, community benefits
include providing health care services to members of vulnerable
populations, as specified.  
   This bill would revise the definition of community benefits with
respect to the provision of health services to vulnerable
populations. The bill would require the office to develop a mandatory
format and methodology to be followed by hospitals in calculating
and presenting community benefits information.  
   Existing law establishes the Office of Women's Health within the
State Department of Health Care Services. The functions of the office
include, among others, to communicate and disseminate information
to, and perform a liaison function between the department and the
State Department of Public Health and providers of health, social,
educational, and support services to women. Existing law requires the
office to develop a coordinated state strategy for addressing the
health related needs of women and requires the approved programmatic
costs of the office to be shared equally by the department and the
State Department of Public Health unless otherwise provided by law.
 
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 127345 of the   Health
and Safety Code   is amended to read: 
   127345.  As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Community benefits plan" means the written document prepared
for annual submission to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development that shall include, but shall not be limited to, a
description of the activities that the hospital has undertaken in
order to address identified community needs within its mission and
financial capacity, and the process by which the hospital developed
the plan in consultation with the community.
   (b) "Community" means the service areas or patient populations for
which the hospital provides health care services.
   (c) Solely for the planning and reporting purposes of this
article, "community benefit" means a hospital's activities that are
intended to address community needs and priorities primarily through
disease prevention and improvement of health status, including, but
not limited to, any of the following:
   (1) Health care services, rendered to vulnerable populations,
including, but not limited to, charity care and the unreimbursed cost
of providing services to the uninsured, underinsured, and those
eligible for Medi-Cal, Medicare, California  Childrens
  Children's  Services Program, or county indigent
programs.  The cost of health care services shall be calculated
consistent with Article 3 (commencing with Section 127400). 
   (2) The unreimbursed cost of services included in subdivision (d)
of Section 127340.
   (3) Financial or in-kind support of public health programs.
   (4) Donation of funds, property, or other resources that
contribute to a community priority.
   (5) Health care cost containment.
   (6) Enhancement of access to health care or related services that
contribute to a healthier community.
   (7) Services offered without regard to financial return because
they meet a community need in the service area of the hospital, and
other services including health promotion, health education,
prevention, and social services.
   (8) Food, shelter, clothing, education, transportation, and other
goods or services that help maintain a person's health.
   (d) "Community needs assessment" means the process by which the
hospital identifies, for its primary service area as determined by
the hospital, unmet community needs.
   (e) "Community needs" means those requisites for improvement or
maintenance of health status in the community.
   (f) "Hospital" means a private not-for-profit acute hospital
licensed under subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1250 and is
owned by a corporation that has been determined to be exempt from
taxation under the United States Internal Revenue Code. "Hospital"
does not mean any of the following:
   (1) Hospitals that are dedicated to serving children and that do
not receive direct payment for services to any patient.
   (2) Small and rural hospitals as defined in Section 124840.
   (g) "Mission statement" means a hospital's primary objectives for
operation as adopted by its governing body.
   (h) "Vulnerable populations" means any population that is exposed
to medical or financial risk by virtue of being uninsured,
underinsured, or eligible for Medi-Cal, Medicare, California 
Childrens   Children's  Services Program, or
county indigent programs.
   SEC. 2.    Section 127350 of the   Health
and Safety Code   is amended to read: 
   127350.  Each hospital shall do all of the following:
   (a) By July 1, 1995, reaffirm its mission statement that requires
its policies integrate and reflect the public interest in meeting its
responsibilities as a not-for-profit organization.
   (b) By January 1, 1996, complete, either alone, in conjunction
with other health care providers, or through other organizational
arrangements, a community needs assessment evaluating the health
needs of the community serviced by the hospital, that includes, but
is not limited to, a process for consulting with community groups and
local government officials in the identification and prioritization
of community needs that the hospital can address directly, in
collaboration with others, or through other organizational
arrangement. The community needs assessment shall be updated at least
once every three years.
   (c) By April 1, 1996, and annually thereafter adopt and update a
community benefits plan for providing community benefits either
alone, in conjunction with other health care providers, or through
other organizational arrangements.
   (d) Annually submit its community benefits plan  ,
including, but not limited to, the activities that the hospital has
undertaken in order to address community needs within its mission and
financial capacity  to the Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development.  The hospital shall, to the extent
practicable, assign and report the economic value of community
benefits provided in furtherance of its plan   The
office shall, by regulation, develop a mandatory format and
methodology that a hospital shall follow when calculating and
presenting community benefit information  . Effective with
hospital fiscal years, beginning on or after January 1, 1996, each
hospital shall file a copy of the plan with the office not later than
150 days after the hospital's fiscal year ends. The reports filed by
the hospitals shall be made available to the public by the office.
Hospitals under the common control of a single corporation or another
entity may file a consolidated report.
   SEC. 3.    Section 127360 of the   Health
and Safety Code   is amended to read: 
   127360.   Nothing in this article shall be construed to
authorize or require specific formats for hospital needs assessments,
community benefit plans, or reports until recommendations pursuant
to former Section 127365, as added by Chapter 1023 of the Statutes of
1996, are considered and enacted by the Legislature. 
Nothing in this article shall be used to justify the tax-exempt
status of a hospital under state law. Nothing in this article shall
preclude the office from requiring hospitals to directly report their
charity activities. 
  SECTION 1.    Section 137 of the Health and Safety
Code is amended to read:
   137.  (a) The office shall develop a coordinated state strategy
for addressing the health related needs of women.
   (b) The approved programmatic costs of the office shall be shared
equally by the State Department of Public Health and the State
Department of Health Care Services unless otherwise provided by law.
   (c) The office shall report to the Director of Health Care
Services.