SB 1365, as amended, Hernandez. Hospitals.
Under existing law, health facilities, including hospitals, as defined, are licensed and regulated by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law prohibits a health facility from charging, billing, or otherwise soliciting payment from a patient on behalf of, or referring a patient to, another health facility in which the health facility has a significant beneficial interest, except as provided. A violation of these provisions is a crime.
This bill wouldbegin delete require an entity that operates or controls a hospital, as defined, and that also operates, controls, or leases real property for use as an outpatient treatment setting, to ensure that the outpatient facility does not charge a fee to or impose costs on a patient or other payer for inpatient care or hospital care, except as provided.end deletebegin insert
require a general acute care hospital that offers a service in a hospital-based outpatient clinic, as defined, to provide specified notice to each patient when that service is available in a nonhospital-based location.end insert By expandingbegin delete aend deletebegin insert the application of an existingend insert crime,begin delete thisend deletebegin insert theend insert bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1323.1 is added to the Health and Safety
2Code, to read:
An entity that operates or controls a hospital, as defined
4in subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1250, and that also operates,
5controls, or leases real property for use as an outpatient treatment
6setting shall ensure that the outpatient facility does not charge a
7fee to or impose costs on a patient or other payer for inpatient care
8or hospital care unless the care is provided in the portion of the
9facility that is subject to Section 1276.4 or a hospital building as
10defined in subdivision (a) of Section 129725.
begin insertSection 1323.1 is added to the end insertbegin insertHealth and Safety
12Codeend insertbegin insert, to read:end insert
(a) A general acute care hospital that offers a service
14in a hospital-based outpatient clinic shall notify each patient when
15that service is available in a nonhospital-based location, as
16follows:
17
“The location where you are being scheduled to receive services
18is a hospital-based clinic, and, therefore, may have higher costs.
19The same service may be available at another location that is not
20hospital-based, which may cost less. Check with ___ (Patient
21Financial Services Office) for another location within our health
22system, or your health insurance company, for more information
23about other locations that may cost less.”
24
(b) For purposes of this section, a “hospital-based outpatient
25clinic” means a
department of a provider, as defined in Section
26413.65(a)(2) of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, that
27is not located on the campus of that provider.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
29Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
30the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
P3 1district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
2infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
3for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
4the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
5the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
6Constitution.
O
98