BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair


          AB 974 (Hall) - Patient transfer: nonmedical reasons: notice to  
          contact person or next of kin.
          
          Amended: July 2, 2013           Policy Vote: Health 9-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: August 12, 2013                           
          Consultant: Brendan McCarthy    
          
          This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: AB 974 would require a hospital to alert a  
          patient's emergency contact person prior to transferring the  
          patient from one hospital to another for nonmedical reasons.

          Fiscal Impact: 
              Potential costs of $130,000 per year for two years to  
              develop and adopt implementing regulations by the Department  
              of Public Health (Licensing and Certification Program Fund).  
              The Department indicates that it may need to adopt  
              implementing regulations to clarify the bill's requirements  
              on hospitals.

          Background: Under current law, before a hospital can transfer a  
          patient needing emergency medical services to another facility  
          for nonmedical reasons, certain conditions must be met. For  
          example, the patient must be examined by a physician and a  
          determination must be made that the transfer will not create a  
          medical hazard for the patient. 

          In addition, current state regulations impose additional  
          restrictions on the transfer of patients from a hospital to  
          another facility for nonmedical reasons. For example, the  
          patient or the person legally responsible for the patient must  
          generally be notified.

          Proposed Law: AB 974 would require a hospital to alert a  
          patient's emergency contact person prior to transferring the  
          patient from one hospital to another for nonmedical reasons.

          Under the bill, hospitals would be required to ask the patient  








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          whether there is a person who should be notified of the  
          transfer. The hospital would be required to make a reasonable  
          effort to contact that person and notify them of the transfer.

          If the patient is unable to respond to questions, the bill would  
          require the hospital to make a reasonable effort to identify the  
          patient's preferred contact or next of kin and notify that  
          person.

          Staff Comments: The only costs that may be incurred by local  
          agencies relate to crimes and infractions. Such costs are not  
          reimbursable by the state under the California Constitution.