Current Status Introducing Body:Senate Bill Number:1215 Primary Sponsor:Moore Committee Number:13 Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Hospitals, open heart surgery unit Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Medical Affairs Computer Document Number:GJK/20421SD.94 Introduced Date:19940224 Last History Body:Senate Last History Date:19940224 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Moore Ryberg Setzler Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved
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1215 Senate 19940224 Introduced, read first time, 13
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND SECTION 44-7-170, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO INSTITUTIONS AND TRANSACTIONS EXEMPT FROM THE STATE CERTIFICATION OF NEED AND HEALTH FACILITY LICENSURE ACT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SHALL PERMIT CERTAIN HOSPITALS TO MAINTAIN AN OPEN HEART SURGERY UNIT AND TO PERFORM OPEN HEART SURGERY PROCEDURES UNDER SPECIFIC CONDITIONS.
Whereas, the Department of Health and Environmental Control has the responsibility under state law to administer and enforce basic standards for maintenance and operation of hospitals and other health facilities in South Carolina; and
Whereas, the department is charged by the State Certification of Need and Health Facility Licensure Act to promote cost containment, prevent unnecessary duplication of health care facilities and services, guide the establishment of health care facilities and services which will best serve the public needs, and ensure that high quality services are provided in health facilities in this State; and
Whereas, state and national efforts to reform the health care system focus on the benefits of managed care and comprehensive community care networks of health care providers as nonregulatory methods of containing costs, increasing efficiency, and serving public needs, while recognizing the critical continuing role of government to ensure high quality care; and
Whereas, the 1993 South Carolina Health Plan of the Department of Health and Environmental Control limits the ability of some hospitals to offer local patients, purchasers, and physicians a comprehensive array of services by requiring comprehensive cardiac catheterization laboratories to be located in hospitals which provide open heart surgery while the plan only permits open heart surgery units at one hospital in Greenville, one hospital in Spartanburg, one hospital in Florence, two hospitals in Columbia, and four hospitals in the Charleston area; and
Whereas, the department recently waived concerns about unnecessary duplication of existing programs and negative impact upon existing programs in approving an open heart surgery program at a hospital in Myrtle Beach; and
Whereas, the General Assembly finds that to participate fully in the increased development of managed care and comprehensive community care networks in South Carolina, hospitals must be able to offer local patients, purchasers, and physicians a comprehensive array of inpatient and outpatient services; and
Whereas, the General Assembly further finds that it is important for the Department of Health and Environmental Control to balance efforts to avoid duplication of health care resources against the need to preserve health care providers close to communities they traditionally serve and improve access to health care for citizens in those communities, while always assuring high quality care. Now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 44-7-170 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 511 of 1992, is further amended by adding:
"(C) Notwithstanding the State Health Plan prepared by the department pursuant to Section 44-7-180, the department shall permit a hospital to maintain an open heart surgery unit if the hospital is at least forty miles from another hospital licensed by the department which has an existing open heart surgery unit.
Since there is a relationship between the number of open heart surgery procedures performed by an open heart surgery program's surgical team and the success of those procedures, if the number of open heart surgery procedures performed or projected to be performed annually by any open heart surgery programs's surgical team or teams is below the minimum established by the department, the department shall impose reasonable additional quality assurance standards as needed."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.