NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A376
SPONSOR: Gottfried (MS)
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law and the New York
city health and hospitals corporation act, in relation to hospital
community advisory boards
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To require every general hospital to
have a community advisory board and community service plan.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Sec. 1 amends PHL § 2803-1 to: extend
the current requirement that "voluntary non-profit" hospitals have a
community service plan to apply to every general hospital, including
public hospitals and for-profit hospitals; require hospitals to involve
its community advisory board in the preparation of its community service
plan; and require every hospital to have a community advisory board
(CAB), similar to the current requirement for New York City public
hospitals.
Sec. 2 amends the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation Act
(Chapter 1016 of the laws of 1969) to require that HHC hospital CAB
membership lists be filed with the State Department of Health (as the
bill requires for other hospital CABs), and to delete the outdated $25
limit on expense reimbursement for CAB members.
Sec. 3 provides for an effective date 270 days after enactment.
 
JUSTIFICATION: General hospitals are vitally important institutions
for communities and should be responsive to community needs, whether
they are non-profit, for profit, or public institutions. Virtually every
non-public hospital is heavily dependent on public funding. With public
licensure and public funding comes an obligation to serve the public.
Public regulations, financial incentives, and, in the case of public
hospitals, public ownership can only go so far in making sure hospitals
are mindful of and serve community needs. New York State wisely requires
voluntary non-profit hospitals to periodically adopt and update a commu-
nity service plan. It is appropriate for every hospital to follow this
model. The New York City's public hospitals are required by state law to
have community advisory boards. All hospitals and communities would
benefit from having a community advisory board.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2011-12: A.7074 - passed Assembly; 2013-
14: A4525 passed Assembly, S.4817 - referred to Health.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Minimal. Community advisory board members would
not be paid, but may be reimbursed by the hospital for their expenses.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE: 270 days after it becomes a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
376
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 7, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, DINOWITZ, PAULIN, AUBRY, COOK, GLICK,
ROBINSON, SEPULVEDA, PERRY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN,
CLARK, JAFFEE, ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the New York city health and
hospitals corporation act, in relation to hospital community advisory
boards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 2803-l of the public health law, as amended by
2 chapter 639 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 2803-l. Community service plans and community advisory boards. 1.
4 The governing body of a [voluntary non-profit] general hospital, in
5 cooperation with the hospital's community advisory board established
6 under this section, must issue an organizational mission statement iden-
7 tifying at a minimum the populations and communities served by the
8 hospital and the hospital's commitment to meeting the health care needs
9 of the community.
10 2. The governing body, in cooperation with the hospital's community
11 advisory board established under this section must at least every three
12 years:
13 (i) review and amend as necessary the hospital mission statement;
14 (ii) solicit the views of the communities served by the hospital on
15 such issues as the hospital's performance and service priorities;
16 (iii) demonstrate the hospital's operational and financial commitment
17 to meeting community health care needs, to provide charity care services
18 and to improve access to health care services by the underserved; and
19 (iv) prepare and make available to the public a statement showing on a
20 combined basis a summary of the financial resources of the hospital and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01932-01-5
A. 376 2
1 related corporations and the allocation of available resources to hospi-
2 tal purposes including the provision of free or reduced charge services.
3 3. The governing body, in cooperation with the hospital's community
4 advisory board, must at least annually prepare and make available to the
5 public an implementation report regarding the hospital's performance in
6 meeting the health care needs of the community, providing charity care
7 services, and improving access to health care services by the under-
8 served.
9 4. The governing body shall file with the commissioner its mission
10 statement, its annual implementation report, and at least every three
11 years a report detailing amendments to the statement and reflecting
12 changes in the hospital's operational and financial commitment to meet-
13 ing the health care needs of the community, providing charity care
14 services, and improving access to health care services by the under-
15 served. Each of these documents shall be made available to the public
16 by the hospital on its website and by the department on its website.
17 5. (i) Every general hospital shall establish a community advisory
18 board to consider and advise the hospital upon matters concerning the
19 development of any plans or programs of the hospital, and may establish
20 rules and regulations with respect to the community advisory board.
21 (ii) The members of the community advisory board shall be represen-
22 tatives of the community served by the hospital. The hospital shall file
23 with the commissioner, and from time to time update, an up-to-date list
24 of the members of the hospital's community advisory board, which shall
25 be made available to the public by the hospital on its website and shall
26 be made available to the public by the department on its website.
27 (iii) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general,
28 special or local, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil
29 division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his
30 office or employment by reason of his acceptance of membership on the
31 community advisory board. No member of the community advisory board
32 shall receive compensation or allowance for services rendered on the
33 community advisory board, except, however, that members of community
34 advisory boards may be reimbursed by the hospital for necessary expenses
35 incurred in relation to service on the community advisory board.
36 § 2. Subdivision 11 of section 4 of section 1 of chapter 1016 of the
37 laws of 1969, enacting the New York city health and hospitals corpo-
38 ration act, as amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1978, is amended to
39 read as follows:
40 11. (i) The corporation shall establish a community advisory board for
41 each of its hospitals to consider and advise the corporation and the
42 hospital upon matters concerning the development of any plans or
43 programs of the corporation, and may establish rules and regulations
44 with respect to such boards.
45 (ii) The members of such advisory boards shall be representatives of
46 the community served by the hospital. The corporation shall file with
47 the commissioner, and from time to time update, an up-to-date list of
48 the members of each hospital's community advisory board, which shall be
49 made available to the public by the hospital on its website and by the
50 department of health on its website.
51 (iii) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general,
52 special or local, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil
53 division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his
54 office or employment by reason of his acceptance of membership on such
55 community advisory board. No member of such board shall receive compen-
56 sation or allowance for services rendered on such board, except, howev-
A. 376 3
1 er, that members of community advisory boards may be reimbursed for
2 necessary expenses [up to and including twenty-five dollars] during a
3 calendar month by submitting a personal summary voucher. Each community
4 advisory board established under this subdivision shall serve as the
5 community advisory board for the respective hospital under section
6 2803-1 of the public health law.
7 § 3. This act shall take effect two hundred seventy days after it
8 shall have become a law. However, prior to that date, the commissioner
9 of health and each general hospital shall take actions reasonably neces-
10 sary to implement this act on that date.