| 6/15/2012 |
Changes to Hospital Conversion Act to be enacted
Bill connected to proposed purchase of Landmark Medical Center
STATE HOUSE – Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee will allow legislation passed by the General Assembly altering the Hospital Conversion Act to become law, he said in a message sent to legislative leaders today.
The changes eliminate a prohibition on for-profit companies acquiring more than one hospital in the state in a three-year period, but would require other provisions aimed at maintaining the hospital’s ties and contributions to the local community.
The legislation (2012-H 7283A, 2012-S 2180B), sponsored by House Majority Leader Nicholas A. Mattiello (D-Dist. 15, Cranston) and Sen. Roger A. Picard (D-Dist. 20, Woonsocket, Cumberland), relates to the proposed purchase of Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket by Massachusetts for-profit hospital operator Steward Health Care Services and subsequent hospital conversions in Rhode Island.
The governor indicated that although he will not sign the bill, he will not veto either, meaning it will become law without his signature next week.
The legislation removes a ban on a single entity or its subsidiaries or partners from converting more than one Rhode Island nonprofit hospital to for-profit in the course of three years, and it would allow the Health Department and the Attorney General to impose any or all of a number of conditions on any hospital conversion. Those conditions include keeping the hospital open for at least a specified length of time, committing to a minimum investment to protect the assets and financial health of the hospital, maintaining a local governing board, contributing financially to state health planning and to primary care in community the hospital serves, and restrictions on financial incentives for patients to receive hospital care outside the state. They can also include requirements that the hospital enter into only those contracts with affiliated entities that are reasonably necessary, that it report the amount of profit generated for the owners and that corporate allocations be consistent with fair-market value for services.
The legislation also makes changes aimed at streamlining the process of changing hospital ownership, such as reducing paperwork and shortening the application and review process from 180 days to 120 days. It also creates a new expedited review process limited to 90 days for distressed hospitals when the proposed applicants are nonprofit entities.
The bill also requires the existing Health Care Planning and Accountability Advisory Council to issue a report to the governor and General Assembly by March 2014 on Rhode Island’s hospital service needs and whether any further changes to the Hospital Conversion Act are necessary.
For more information, contact:
Greg Pare, Press Secretary for the Senate
State House Room 314
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 276-5558 |
LEGISLATIVE INFO
