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| Action needed: |
Call and write your state senator and urge them to oppose Senate Bill (SB) 977 (Monning, D-Carmel). The bill would strain access to the health care system by creating an extreme and burdensome process for arrangements such as affiliations and partnerships between hospitals and other providers. CHA has developed a template letter and talking points. Please send your letter to Dawn Vicari at dvicari@calhospital.org so that it can be emailed to senators and their staff. Contact information for state senators is available here. |
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Timing: |
By June 16. The bill will be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee in a Suspense File hearing June 18. |
Background: SB 977 would require hospital systems to get the California attorney general’s (AG) approval before entering into an affiliation, agreement, partnership, joint venture, or other arrangement with another hospital/system, clinic, ambulatory surgery center, treatment center, laboratory, or physician office. The bill includes virtually no “guardrails,” clear processes, or opportunities for appeal — giving arbitrary and total discretion to the AG over these transactions. It would create a highly political and bureaucratic system, disrupting arrangements that improve access to care and clinical outcomes — including the essential functions of hospital systems, medical foundations, and joint ventures among hospitals and other providers.