NY State Senate Bill 2023-S415

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Corporations, Authorities And Commissions Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
Jan 04, 2023	referred to corporations, authorities and commissions

co-Sponsors

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Corporations, Authorities And Commissions
Law Section:: Public Authorities Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3402, Pub Auth L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S8381

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the membership on the Nassau health care corporation board; provides that the board of directors shall select the chair and the chief executive officer.

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S415

SPONSOR: THOMAS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to membership on
the Nassau health care corporation board

 
PURPOSE GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Adds experience requirements for voting directors on the Nassau health
care corporation board to ensure the hospital can sufficiently manage
and oversee funds invested into Nassau University Medical Center.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section
3402 of the public authorities law to require all voting directors
appointed to the board have experience and knowledge in relevant fields
and a high degree of interest in the corporation.

Section 2 of the bill amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section

3402 of the public authorities law to specify that the board of direc-
tors shall by majority vote designate one of the fifteen voting direc-
tors as the chairperson of the board.

Section 3 of the bill amends subdivision 4 of section 3402 of the public
authorities to specify that the board of directors shall select the
chief executive officer without the approval of the county executive.

Section 4 states the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Nassau Health Care Corporation is a public benefit corporation created
under the public authorities law. Nassau Health Care Corporation
(NuHealth) operates Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) and the A.
Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility. NUMC is the primary source of
medical care for millions of Nassau County residents and is Long
Island's only public "safety net" hospital. Despite being a crucial
resource that serves hundreds of thousands of patients annually, the
hospital and NuHealth are better known for being staffed by patronage
positions and mishandling funds and federal grant money.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, NUMC was in financial straits. The hospi-
tal's fiscal crisis quickly worsened due to COVID-19. The former chair
stated multiple times that NUMC could not continue operations without
major reductions to services, including staff cutbacks and the sale of
the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care facility to stay afloat.

Due to the federal relief funds from the pandemic, NuHealth and NUMC
found itself the recipients of over $211 million of funds. These funds
included $121 million from the CARES Act, $26 million in advanced Medi-
care reimbursement funds, about $34 million from a state Medicaid
program, DSRIP, and another $30 million of cash on hand to run the
place. Regardless of this influx of funds, the former chair stated that
the fiscal reality for NUMC had not changed.


Despite its troubled history, it is critical to the health and safety of
Long Islanders that NUMC be fully solvent and operational. To that end,
Governor Hochul publicly committed to allocating state resources to
correct the failures that have plagued NUMC in the past.  Additionally,
.Governor Hochul's proposed FY 2023 budget included significant amounts
of money for investment in the state's healthcare systems, including
NUMC.

The increased commitment of government funds and resources to address
NUMC's fiscal situation requires greater state oversight of the NuHealth
board of directors. On top of the funding already committed by the
federal government, NUMC is expecting $25 million in pandemic relief
reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
according to Senator Chuck Schumer. More funding from the state is also
very likely as the newly formed New York Safety Net Hospital Coalition
lobbies for increased financial support and Medicaid reimbursement
reform.

As the state addresses health inequities and underfunding of safety net
hospitals, like NUMC, it is crucial that there be increased state repre-
sentation on the NuHealth board to prevent future mismanagement of these
funds and grant money and to bring greater stability to the board of
directors. This added oversight and management will help NUMC plan a
fresh path forward.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: S.8381-B (Thomas) / A.9474-B (Darling) - Passed Senate.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    415
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. THOMAS, KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to  the  Committee  on  Corporations,
   Authorities and Commissions
 
 AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to membership on
   the Nassau health care corporation board

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision  1  of  section  3402  of  the
 public  authorities  law,  as added by chapter 9 of the laws of 1997, is
 amended and a new paragraph (b-1) is added to read as follows:
   (b) The corporation  shall  be  governed  by  A  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS,
 CONSISTING OF fifteen voting directors, eight of whom shall be appointed
 by  the governor as provided in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, three
 of whom shall be appointed by the county executive for initial terms  of
 two years, and four of whom shall be appointed by the county legislature
 for initial terms of three years.
   (B-1)  EACH VOTING DIRECTOR SHOULD POSSESS A HIGH DEGREE OF EXPERIENCE
 AND KNOWLEDGE IN RELEVANT FIELDS AND A HIGH DEGREE OF  INTEREST  IN  THE
 CORPORATION.  THE  APPOINTMENT OF ANY VOTING DIRECTOR TO THE CORPORATION
 SHALL BE BASED IN PART ON THE OBJECTIVE OF ENSURING THAT THE CORPORATION
 INCLUDES DIVERSE AND BENEFICIAL PERSPECTIVES AND EXPERIENCE,  INCLUDING,
 BUT  NOT LIMITED TO, THOSE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, LAW, FINANCE, MEDICAL
 AND/OR OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONALS,  HEALTH  SECTOR  WORKERS,    AND  THE
 PATIENT OR CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE.
   §  2.  Paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision 2 of section 3402 of the public
 authorities law, as added by chapter 9 of the laws of 1997,  is  amended
 to read as follows:
   (a)  The  [county executive] BOARD OF DIRECTORS shall BY MAJORITY VOTE
 designate one of the fifteen voting directors as the chairperson of  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01903-01-3

 S. 415                              2
 
 board.  The chairperson shall preside over all meetings of the board and
 shall have such other duties as the voting directors may direct.
   §  3.  Subdivision 4 of section 3402 of the public authorities law, as
 added by chapter 9 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
   4. The board of directors shall select  the  chief  executive  officer
 [subject  to  the  approval of the county executive] and shall determine
 the salary and benefits of the chief executive  officer  of  the  corpo-
 ration.   The chief executive officer shall serve at the pleasure of the
 board of directors provided, however, that removal without  cause  shall
 not  prejudice the contract rights, if any, of the chief executive offi-
 cer.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that nothing  in
 this  act shall be construed to prohibit an individual from completing a
 term for which the person was appointed, prior to the effective date  of
 this act.

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Senate Bill S415

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Corporations, Authorities And Commissions Committee

co-Sponsors

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S415

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Sponsored By

Kevin Thomas

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Corporations, Authorities And Commissions Committee

co-Sponsors

Liz Krueger

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S415 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments