Health Facility Patient Information Denied Service

The bill requires the department of public health and environment (department) to identify health-care services that are or may be subject to a denial of care in this state and to develop a simple service availability form to be filled out by a covered entity for the purpose of conveying to patients and to the public information about health-care services that, for nonmedical reasons, are not generally available at the covered entity or that are subject to significant restriction at the covered entity.

The bill defines:

• "Covered entity" as a hospital, community clinic, maternity hospital, freestanding emergency department, or rehabilitation hospital;
• "Denial of care", in part, as refusal to provide health-care services for nonmedical reasons; and
• "Nonmedical reasons", in part, as nonclinical criteria, rules, or policies that restrict health-care professionals and covered entities from providing health-care services that the professionals or facilities are authorized or licensed to provide.

The bill includes requirements for the content and format of the service availability form and requires the department to publish and maintain on its public-facing website a list of covered entities and the service availability form for the covered entity.

The bill authorizes the department to update the service availability form at least biennially. The executive director of the department shall adopt rules to implement the requirements in the bill and investigate complaints and assess fines against covered entities that fail to comply with the requirements in the bill.

The department shall implement a public awareness program that includes how denial of care may negatively impact health-care access and quality of care, how denial of care may be avoided, and the impacts of denial of care on vulnerable people and communities.

A covered entity shall provide patients with the current service availability form as part of the informed consent process prior to initiating a health-care service and shall maintain a record of the patient's receipt of the form. The covered entity shall encourage health-care professionals with privileges at the covered entity to share the covered entity's service availability form with a patient when a health-care service is scheduled at the covered entity.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)