Bill > HB1215

This bill, also known as "Grace's Law," establishes the right for individuals with communication disabilities to use their preferred methods of communication, such as Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, letterboards, sign language, or speech-generating devices, when receiving services within the state's service delivery system, including in residential settings and schools. It also sets standards for transferring patients from freestanding hospital emergency facilities (FHEFs), which are emergency departments separate from a main hospital, to acute care hospitals, ensuring these transfers are based on clinical appropriateness, patient safety, continuity of care, and patient choice, rather than solely on ownership or affiliation. The bill prohibits coercive or misleading transfer practices and reinforces existing federal requirements under EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act), a law ensuring emergency medical care regardless of ability to pay, and grants the state authority to enforce violations.