BILL NUMBER: SB 1297	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 2, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hueso

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act  to add Section 128767 to the Health and Safety Code,
  relating to health facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1297, as amended, Hueso. Hospital Safety and Transparency Act
of 2014.
   Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health
facilities, including  general acute care 
hospitals, by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law
requires a hospital  , as defined,  to report summary
financial and utilization data, as specified, to the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development within 45 days of the end
of the every calendar quarter.
   This bill would  state the intent of the Legislature that
  require  the Office of Statewide Health Planning
and Development  expand on its hospital reporting functions
and consolidate the information   to publish on its
Internet Web site historical and current information  collected
by state and federal regulators about hospitals. The bill would also
make related findings and declarations.
   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.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Hospital Safety and Transparency Act of 2014.
  SEC. 2.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) The state and federal government play an important oversight
role in ensuring minimum safety standards are met by health
facilities and that public funds are properly used.
   (2) The findings of these reviews are dispersed across multiple
state entities, often in multiple locations and varying in formats.
As a result, consumers and other interested members of the public do
not have access to a comprehensive profile of a hospital's status and
performance on quality and compliance with state and federal laws.
   (3) Despite the state's existing efforts to collect and publish
individual hospital facility data reported to the state, the state
could improve upon its efforts to consolidate findings from its
reviews and sanctions of individual hospital providers alongside
already reported data on hospitals.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development expand on its current
hospital reporting functions as set forth in Part 5 (commencing with
Section 128675) of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code.

   (c) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development further consolidate the
information collected by state and federal regulators about
hospitals, including, but not limited to, information regarding
Medi-Cal program withholds pursuant to Section 14107.11 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, and provider preventable conditions
pursuant to Parts 434, 438, and 447 of Title 42 of the Code of
Federal Regulations. 
   SEC. 3.    Section 128767 is added to the  
Health and Safety Code   , to read:  
   128767.  From records in its possession, the office shall publish
on its Internet Web site historical and current information collected
by state and federal regulators about hospitals, including, but not
limited to, information regarding Medi-Cal program withholds pursuant
to Section 14107.11 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and
provider preventable conditions pursuant to Parts 434, 438, and 447
of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.