S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    792
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 11, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. HUNTER -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Health
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the public health law, in relation to requirements for
   approval for merger and consolidation of certain health care providers
   by the public health and health planning council

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision 3 of section 2801-a of the public health law,
 as amended by section 57 of part A of chapter 58 of the laws of 2010, is
 amended to read as follows:
   3. The public health and health planning council shall not  approve  a
 certificate  of  incorporation,  articles of organization or application
 for establishment unless it is satisfied, insofar as applicable,  as  to
 (a) the public need for the existence of the institution at the time and
 place  and  under the circumstances proposed, provided, however, that in
 the case of an institution proposed to be established or operated by  an
 organization  defined in subdivision one of section one hundred seventy-
 two-a of the executive law, the needs of the members  of  the  religious
 denomination  concerned,  for care or treatment in accordance with their
 religious or ethical convictions, shall be deemed to be public need; (b)
 the character,  competence,  and  standing  in  the  community,  of  the
 proposed  incorporators,  directors,  sponsors, stockholders, members or
 operators; with respect to any proposed incorporator, director, sponsor,
 stockholder, member or operator who is already or within  the  past  ten
 years  has  been  an  incorporator, director, sponsor, member, principal
 stockholder, principal member, or  operator  of  any  hospital,  private
 proprietary  home  for  adults, residence for adults, or non-profit home
 for the aged or blind which has been issued an operating certificate  by
 the  state  department of social services, or a halfway house, hostel or
 other residential facility or  institution  for  the  care,  custody  or
 treatment  of  the mentally disabled which is subject to approval by the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02611-01-3
              

 A. 792                              2
 
 department of mental hygiene, no approval shall be  granted  unless  the
 public  health  and health planning council, having afforded an adequate
 opportunity to members  of  health  systems  agencies,  if  any,  having
 geographical  jurisdiction  of  the  area where the institution is to be
 located to be heard, shall affirmatively find by substantial evidence as
 to each such incorporator, director, sponsor, principal  stockholder  or
 operator  that a substantially consistent high level of care is being or
 was being rendered in  each  such  hospital,  home,  residence,  halfway
 house,  hostel,  or other residential facility or institution with which
 such person is or was affiliated; for the purposes  of  this  paragraph,
 the  public  health  and  health  planning council shall adopt rules and
 regulations, subject to the approval of the commissioner,  to  establish
 the  criteria to be used to determine whether a substantially consistent
 high level of care has been  rendered,  provided,  however,  that  there
 shall  not  be  a  finding that a substantially consistent high level of
 care has been rendered where there have been  violations  of  the  state
 hospital  code,  or  other  applicable  rules  and regulations, that (i)
 threatened to directly affect the  health,  safety  or  welfare  of  any
 patient  or  resident,  and  (ii)  were  recurrent  or were not promptly
 corrected; (c) the financial resources of the proposed  institution  and
 its  sources of future revenues; [and] (d) AN APPLICANT THAT PROPOSES TO
 MERGE,  CONSOLIDATE,  PARTNER,  ACQUIRE  THROUGH  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF
 CONTROL,  OR  PROPOSES  ANY  OTHER TRANSACTION OR AFFILIATION WITH OTHER
 HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS GOVERNED UNDER THIS  ARTICLE,  THAT  SUCH  MERGER,
 CONSOLIDATION,  ACQUISITION,  OR  OTHER  TRANSACTION OR AFFILIATION WITH
 OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS GOVERNED UNDER THIS ARTICLE,  SHALL  IMPROVE
 ACCESS  TO MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED INDIVIDUALS, LOWER THE COSTS TO CONSUM-
 ERS, ADVANCE THE PUBLIC HEALTH GOALS OF THE  STATE,  AND  THE  APPLICANT
 SHALL  NOT  INCREASE CHARGES FOR SERVICES THAT EXCEED THE CONSUMER PRICE
 INDEX FOR MEDICAL CARE FOR THE  FIVE  YEARS  IMMEDIATELY  FOLLOWING  ANY
 APPROVAL  OF  SUCH  MERGER,  CONSOLIDATION, ACQUISITION, OR OTHER TRANS-
 ACTION OR AFFILIATION; AND  PURSUANT  TO  THIS  SECTION.  SUCH  APPROVED
 APPLICANT  SHALL  SUBMIT  AN ANNUAL REPORT TO THE DEPARTMENT BY DECEMBER
 THIRTY-FIRST OF EACH YEAR FOR THE FIVE  YEARS  FOLLOWING  SUCH  APPROVAL
 DEMONSTRATING  HOW THE APPROVAL OF A CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION, ARTI-
 CLES OF ORGANIZATION OR APPLICATION  FOR  ESTABLISHMENT,  BENEFITED  THE
 PUBLIC,  INCLUDING  BUT  NOT  LIMITED  TO,  LOWERING COSTS TO CONSUMERS,
 PROVIDING EFFICIENCIES, AND OTHERWISE BENEFITING THE SERVICE AREA OF THE
 APPLICANT; AND (E) such other matters as it shall deem pertinent.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.