Amendment #190 to H4700

Accountability for hospital essential service closures

Mr. LeBoeuf of Worcester moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:

“SECTION XXXX. Chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking subsection (4) of section 51G and inserting in place thereof the following section:- Any hospital discontinuing an essential health service shall not be eligible to have an application approved pursuant to section 25C for a period of three years from the date the service is discontinued, or until the essential health service is restored, or until such time as the department is satisfied that a plan is in place for which the hospital provides to the department evidence of support or non-opposition to the proposed change from each municipality to which it provides the service as a health care resource, as determined pursuant to section 16T of chapter 6A of the General Laws. Any information given without meeting the requirements of this paragraph shall not constitute notice to the department for the purpose of establishing the earliest date on which the hospital may close or discontinue an essential health service.”

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #190 to H4700

Accountability for hospital essential service closures