BILL NUMBER: AB 2942 AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 13, 2008 INTRODUCED BY Assembly MemberBergMa FEBRUARY 22, 2008An 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,BergMa .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:noyes . 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, CaliforniaChildrensChildren'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, CaliforniaChildrensChildren'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 capacityto 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 planThe 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.