SB 1365, as amended, Hernandez. Hospitals.
Under existing law, health facilities, includingbegin delete hospitals, as defined,end deletebegin insert general acute care hospitals,end insert 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 would require a general acute care hospitalbegin delete that offers a service in a hospital-based outpatient clinic, as defined,end delete
to providebegin insert aend insert specified notice to each patientbegin insert scheduled for a service in a hospital-based outpatient clinic, as defined,end insert when that service is available in a nonhospital-based location. By expanding the application of an existing crime, the 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:
begin insertSection 1323.1 is added to the end insertbegin insertHealth and Safety
4Codeend insertbegin insert, end insertimmediately following Section 1323begin insert, to read:end insert
(a) A general acute care hospitalbegin delete that offers a service shall notify each patient
6in a hospital-based outpatient clinicend delete
7begin insert scheduled for a service in a hospital-based outpatient clinicend insert when
8that service is available inbegin delete a nonhospital-based location, as follows:end delete
9
begin insert another location that is not hospital-based. The notification shall
10be in substantially the following form:end insert
11“The
end delete
12begin insertTheend insert location where you are being scheduled to receive services
13is a hospital-based clinic, and, therefore, may have higher costs.
14The same service may be available at another locationbegin insert within our
15health systemend insert that is not hospital-based, which may cost less. Check
16withbegin delete ___ (Patient Financial Services Office)end deletebegin insert the [insert name of
17office] at [insert telephone number]end insert for another location within
18our health system, orbegin insert
check withend insert your health insurance company,
19for more information about other locations that may costbegin delete less.”end delete
20
begin insert less.end insert
21(b) For purposes of this section, a “hospital-based outpatient
22clinic” means a department of a provider, as defined in Section
23413.65(a)(2) of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, that
24is not located on the campus of that provider.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
26Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
27the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
28district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
29infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
30for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
31the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
P3 1the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
2Constitution.
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