Bill > S1225

This bill amends Section 51G of Chapter 111 of the General Laws to enhance the protection of essential health services, particularly when a hospital or a specific service within it is proposed for closure or discontinuance. It mandates that any notification regarding such a proposal must include detailed reasons for the action, an analysis of the economic feasibility and impacts of the closure, and an assessment of clinical safety and potential threats to public health. Furthermore, the bill grants the department the authority to deny a proposed discontinuance if it determines that the essential health service or hospital can be retained in a clinically safe manner without negatively impacting the hospital's or owning entity's fair net operating income, allowing the department to require its retention in its original or a modified form.