THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

311

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO HAWAII HEALTH SYSTEMS CORPORATION.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to ensure that all of the people of Hawaii, especially those residing in underserved rural communities, have continued access to health care services, by establishing a process for determining whether the health care services presently provided by the Hawaii health systems corporation, one or more of the corporation's five regional health care systems, or one of more of the corporation's health systems facilities can be delivered more cost-effectively by partnering with healthcare management systems that are presently providing hospital services in the State and have provided such services, without interruption, for at least ten years.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 323F, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"PART    .  PARTNERING PROCESS FOR THE OPERATION OF THE HAWAII HEALTH SYSTEMS CORPORATION, ONE OR MORE REGIONAL SYSTEMS, OR ONE OR MORE HEALTH SYSTEMS FACILITIES.

     §323F-A  Authority to partner.  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, including but not limited to chapters 76, 89, 103D, 323D, and 343, the governor, with the assistance of the advisory committee established in section 323F—B, may select and enter into written agreements, reviewed and approved by the attorney general, with one or more healthcare management systems that offer to assume some or all of the responsibilities of one or more of the corporation's regional systems or one or more of the corporation's health systems facilities to deliver health care in the communities the regional systems or health system facilities serve.

     For purposes of this part, the term "healthcare management system" means a nonprofit or public benefit corporation registered to do business in the State, with expertise and experience operating an integrated clinical health care delivery system in the State for no less than ten years and has been providing hospital services, including trauma, pediatric, neonatal, cardiac, and other specialty health care.

     §323F-B  Advisory committee; establishment.  There is established an advisory committee chosen by the governor or the governor's designee consisting of, at a minimum:

     (1)  The attorney general or the attorney general's designee;

     (2)  The director of finance or the director's designee; and

     (3)  The chief executive officer or acting chief executive officer of the corporation.

     §323F-C  Request for proposals.  The chief executive officer of the corporation shall give notice inviting healthcare management systems to submit a transition plan for assuming some or all of the responsibilities of one or more of the corporation's regional systems, or one or more of the corporation's health systems facilities, to deliver health care in the communities the systems or facilities serve.

     §323F-D Transition plan.  The transition plan a healthcare management system submits in response to a notice published under section 323F-C shall include provisions to:

     (1)  Establish a governance and management structure that will improve the performance of the hospitals and facilities of the corporation, regional system, or combined regional systems;

     (2)  Increase efficiencies of scale, shared services, and administrative and technological expertise to improve the health care performance of the hospitals and facilities of the corporation, regional system, or combined regional system;

     (3)  Implement operational efficiencies and a financial structure that will reduce or eliminate the need for state subsidies during the period of transition; and

     (4)  Protect and promote the health care needs of the areas being served and deliver a high quality of clinical care and patient services.

     §323F-E  Management agreement executed by the State and selected healthcare management systems.  At a minimum, the agreement executed by the State and any healthcare management system selected to implement its transition plan shall include provisions that:

     (1)  Specify that any and all liabilities of the corporation, regional system, or combined regional system transitioning into a new healthcare management system that were transferred to the corporation upon its creation pursuant to Act 262, Session Laws of Hawaii 1996, and all liabilities of the corporation, regional system, or combined regional system related to collective bargaining contracts negotiated by the State, shall remain the responsibility of the State;

     (2)  Assure that the selected healthcare management system shall pursue general fund support from the State sufficient to maintain equivalent hospital services in acquired regions for no more than five years after its assumption of the responsibilities of one or more regional systems or health systems facilities to deliver health care in the communities served by the systems or facilities and shall not exceed current levels of support;

     (3)  Allow the State or the selected healthcare management system to terminate the agreement with a minimum of one hundred eighty days written notice to ensure that the delivery of health care to the community served will not be disrupted;

     (4)  Allow the selected healthcare management system exclusive control of all matters related to the management and operation of the facility or regional system subject to the transition plan;

     (5)  Dissolve the regional system board if the transition plan that is selected provides that the selected healthcare management system shall operate and manage all of the facilities in a region;

     (6)  Permit the selected healthcare management system to submit to the advisory committee a written offer to purchase all of the tangible assets, excluding real property, of one or more facilities in a regional system, including but not limited to buildings, fixtures, equipment, machinery, and inventory located on, about, or under the facilities;

     (7)  Permit the State, upon a recommendation of the advisory committee and approval of the governor, to accept the written offer to purchase submitted by the selected healthcare management system, and to enter into a written purchase and sale agreement for the transfer of all of the assets of one or more regional systems or facilities, except real property, to the healthcare management system; provided that any property or services acquired pursuant to the purchase and sale agreement shall be exempt from chapter 323D, part V; provided further that the purchase and sale agreement may not be executed by the State until the selected healthcare management system and the exclusive representatives of the employees of the corporation who are employed in the facility or region that is the subject of the purchase and sale agreement negotiate and enter into a written agreement regarding the rights of the employees of the corporation affected by the purchase and sale, and that agreement is incorporated into the purchase and sale agreement in its entirety so that it is binding upon the selected healthcare management system;

     (8)  Permit the selected healthcare management system, upon receipt of the transition committee's written acceptance of the offer to purchase, to commence labor negotiations with the public sector labor unions that then represent the employees employed in the facility or region that is the subject of the purchase and sale agreement; and

     (9)  Permit the incumbent union to negotiate with the purchasing healthcare management system in lieu of the public employer.

     Upon the closing of the purchase of the assets of a regional system, chapter 323F shall be inapplicable as to that regional system."

     SECTION 3.  Section 323F-7.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

     ["[§323F-7.6]  Transition of Hawaii health systems regional system or health facility to a new entity.  (a)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, including but not limited to section 27-1 and chapter 171, any of the regional systems or individual facilities of the Hawaii health systems corporation is hereby authorized to transition into a new legal entity in any form recognized under the laws of the State, including but not limited to:

     (1)  A nonprofit corporation;

     (2)  A for-profit corporation;

     (3)  A municipal facility;

     (4)  A public benefit corporation; or

     (5)  Any two or more of the entities in paragraphs (1) through (4).

A transition shall occur through the sale, lease, or transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of the facility or regional system, except for real property which shall only be transferred by lease.  Any transition shall comply with chapter 323D.

     (b)  A transition shall only occur upon approval of the appropriate regional system board in the case of a regional system or individual facility transition, or upon approval of the regional system boards and the corporation in the case of the transition of the entire corporation.  Any transition shall be subject to legal review by the attorney general who shall approve the transition if satisfied that the transition conforms to all applicable laws, subject to the review of the director of the department of budget and finance who shall approve the transition if it conforms to all applicable financing procedures, and subject to the governor's approval.  In addition the transition shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:

     (1)  All proceeds from the sale, lease, or transfer of assets shall be used for health care services in the respective regional system or facility, except that real property shall only be transferred by lease;

     (2)  Any and all liabilities of a regional system or facility transitioning into a new entity that were transferred to the Hawaii health systems corporation upon its creation by Act 262, Session Laws of Hawaii 1996, and all liabilities of the regional system or facility related to collective bargaining contracts negotiated by the State, shall become the responsibility of the State; and

     (3)  During the period of transition:

         (A)  The State shall continue to fund the provision of health care services provided for by the regional system or individual facility; and

         (B)  All applicable provisions of this chapter shall continue to apply.

     Upon the completion of the transition of all the facilities in a regional system to a new entity, the regional system board for that regional system shall terminate; provided that if not all of a regional system's facilities are transitioned to a new entity, the existing regional system board shall not terminate but shall continue to retain jurisdiction over those facilities remaining in the regional system."]

     SECTION 4.  No employee of the Hawaii health systems corporation who is separated from service as a result of the implementation of a transition plan under section 2 of this Act shall suffer any loss of retirement allowance earned as provided in section 88-74, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     SECTION 5.  The Hawaii health systems corporation and each of its five regional boards shall submit reports to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular sessions of 2016 and 2017, which shall include long-term, multi-biennium plans to reduce the Hawaii health systems corporation's operating deficits.

     SECTION 6.  In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

     SECTION 7.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.

     SECTION 8.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2015.

 


 


 

Report Title:

Hawaii Health Systems Corporation; Transition Guidelines;

Nonprofit Hospital Corporations

 

Description:

Establishes a process to enable the Hawaii health systems corporation, a regional system, or a combined regional system of two or more regional systems or a facility or service to transition to a new healthcare management system organized under the laws of the State as a nonprofit corporation or public benefit corporation registered to do business in the State.  Establishes an advisory committee to assist the governor in reviewing and monitoring the transitioning of the corporation, a regional system, or a combined regional system to a new healthcare management system.  (SD1)

 

 

 

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