DATABASE OF HEALTH FACILITIES

House Bill 4361 as introduced

Sponsor:  Rep. Peter Lucido

Committee:  Health Policy

Complete to 9-7-17

SUMMARY:

House Bill 4361 would add two sections to the Public Health Code, requiring the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) to establish and maintain a central database of health facilities or agencies. (Proposed MCL 333.20210 and 333.20210a).  

The database would include at least the following about each health facility or agency:

·         Name, address, and telephone number;

·         Days and general hours of operation;

·         License number, including its effective date and expiration date;

·         List of any violations of the rules promulgated under this section or Article 17: Facilities and Agencies in the Public Health Code;

·         Number and nature of disciplinary actions taken by LARA;

·         Number, nature, and results of complaint investigations conducted by LARA;

·         Number, nature, and results of abuse, neglect, and exploitation investigations conducted under the Social Welfare Act that involve a patient or resident; and

·         List of violations of municipal health and safety ordinances, as reported to LARA by the municipalities.  [A municipality is defined in the bill as a county, city, village, or township]

Under the bill, LARA would make the database available on the LARA website free of charge.  LARA would also inform the public of the information available on the database and how to access it, through press releases or other media. No information that is prohibited from being disclosed under state or federal law would be included in the database.

The bill would take effect 90 days after enactment.

FISCAL IMPACT:

House Bill 4361 would likely create additional, but indeterminate, costs for the state, namely the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) as well as local units of government.

The department (via the Bureau of Community and Health Systems) currently regulates approximately 1,200 licensed health facilities and agencies under Part 201 of the Public Health Code. The department has indicated that the definition of "health facilities and agencies" would also include health maintenance organizations and ambulance operations, which the department does not regulate. The department currently has a publicly accessible website where searches can be conducted on a licensed entity; the information contained on this site includes the most recent state license renewal inspection reports.  According to the department the bill would require additional staff to develop and maintain the proposed database. Specifically, the department would have to hire additional staff to maintain information regarding current telephone numbers, hours of operation, violations of municipal ordinances, and the summarization of the state’s disciplinary actions. The bill would also create added information technology costs for the department for the proposed database.  The department's current system that would be used for this undertaking is decades old.

The bill could cause a slight increase in administrative costs to municipalities for the reporting of ordinance violations by licensed entities to LARA.

                                                                                        Legislative Analyst:   Jenny McInerney

                                                                                                Fiscal Analyst:   Marcus Coffin

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.