{"id":9249,"date":"2023-02-21T15:20:25","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T22:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=9249"},"modified":"2023-02-21T15:20:25","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T22:20:25","slug":"california-senate-republicans-introduce-save-our-hospitals-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=9249","title":{"rendered":"California Senate Republicans Introduce \u201cSave Our Hospitals\u201d Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Measure Comes in Response to Attorney General Bonta Shutting Down the Only Hospital in Madera County, Endangering Rural Residents\u00a0Across the State<\/em><\/p>\n

SACRAMENTO\u00a0\u2013 Today,\u00a0Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones<\/a>\u00a0(R-San Diego) and\u00a0Senator Shannon Grove<\/a>\u00a0(R-Bakersfield)\u00a0introduced Senate Bill 774, the \u201cSave Our Hospitals\u201d bill, to help prevent nonprofit community hospitals from closing their doors. The bill is jointly authored by Jones and Grove, and all California Senate Republican Caucus members are proud coauthors of the measure. Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to read the measure.<\/p>\n

\u201cAttorney General Bonta single-handedly took away access to an emergency room and specialty medical care from 150,000 Californians, and put 700 hospital employees out of work. Our measure will help prevent this from ever happening again,\u201d\u00a0said Leader Jones.<\/p>\n

Senator Grove said, \u201cThis legislation is about prioritizing access to healthcare for my constituents in the Central Valley and ensuring the most vulnerable people have access to life-saving treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Specifically, SB 774 aims to prohibit the California Attorney General from putting unreasonable, unwarranted, or unworkable conditions onto a merger, partnership, or agreement between a non-profit hospital and a for-profit business entity.<\/p>\n

Background:<\/p>\n

In January, after years of being underfunded by Medi-Cal reimbursement rates and the pandemic pushing the hospital into complete financial ruin,\u00a0Madera Community Hospital<\/a>\u00a0(MCH) shut its doors. MCH served a large rural, Latino-majority community in the San Joaquin Valley. Trinity Health, a potential buyer, stepped in to purchase MCH and save the hospital from closing. However, California state law requires nonprofit hospitals to get approval from the California Attorney General for any mergers, partnerships, or agreements with for-profit entities or corporations. Attorney General Bonta forced complex and unnecessary restrictions before the sale, including price rate caps on all hospital services for five years, causing the deal to fall through and the hospital to close.<\/p>\n

SB 774 would prohibit the California Attorney General from putting conditions on hospital mergers, partnership, or agreements that would:<\/p>\n