Patient protection laws enacted by states are not limited to provisions regarding managed care. The expanding scope of laws designed to preserve access to health care implicate new roles for the state in regulating the health care marketplace. The tension between preserving access and the economic pressures facing health care organizations often place patients and large health care organizations squarely before regulators who must then balance their respective interests. This presentation will examine a new patient protection measure enacted in Massachusetts that is designed to protect access when a hospital determines it will eliminate essential services.
Learning Objectives: The participant in this session will: 1. Understand the effect of state regulation of the closure of essential hospital services on a community's access to care. 2. Discuss the role of the advocate in applying state law to protect the public's access to health care.
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.