Hospital equity reporting.

Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information to oversee various aspects of the health care market, including oversight of hospital facilities and community benefit plans. Existing law requires a private, not-for-profit hospital to adopt and update a community benefits plan that describes the activities the hospital has undertaken to address identified community needs within its mission and financial capacity, including health care services rendered to vulnerable populations. Existing law defines "vulnerable populations" for these purposes to mean a population that is exposed to medical or financial risk by virtue of being uninsured, underinsured, or eligible for Medi-Cal, Medicare, California Children's Services Program, or county indigent programs. Existing law requires a hospital to annually submit its community benefits plan to the department not later than 150 days after the hospital's fiscal year ends. This bill would add racial and ethnic groups experiencing disparate health outcomes and socially disadvantaged groups to the definition of "vulnerable populations" for community benefits reporting purposes. This bill would require a hospital to prepare and annually submit an equity report to the department according to a reporting schedule established by the department. The bill would require an equity report to include, among other things, an analysis of health status and access to care disparities on the basis of specified categories, including age, sex, and race, and a health equity plan to reduce disparities. The bill would authorize the department to impose a fine not to exceed $5,000 against a hospital that fails to adopt, update, or submit an equity report, and would require the department to list those that failed to submit an equity report on its internet website. The bill would require the department to convene a Health Care Equity Measures Advisory Committee with specified membership to assist and advise the director relative to equity reports.