The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.
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An Act relative to delivery of health care and restricting the leasing of certain services. |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, (1) no person who, under the solo or physician group practice exclusion from the definition of “clinic” contained in section 52 of chapter 111 of the General Laws, is authorized to acquire medical, diagnostic or therapeutic equipment used to provide magnetic resonance imaging services pursuant to a notice filed with the Department of Public Health in accordance with chapter 495 of the Acts of 1991, or who is authorized to acquire medical, diagnostic or therapeutic equipment used to provide an innovative service or which is a new technology, as such terms are defined by the Department of Public Health, pursuant to a notice filed with said Department in accordance with section 6 of chapter 350 of the Acts of 1993, shall be permitted to implement said authorization in any manner, unless such implementation is carried out in conjunction with a hospital, a hospital affiliate or a constituent of a hospital system, or a nonprofit clinic licensed by the Department of Public Health. For purposes of this section, a “hospital” is defined as a hospital licensed under section 51 of chapter 111 of the General Laws; a “hospital affiliate” is defined as any entity that, directly or indirectly, is controlled by, controls, or is under common control with a hospital or a joint venture in which a hospital participates; “control” is defined as the ownership of at least fifty percent of the equity in an entity or the ability to appoint at least fifty percent of the members of the governing body of such entity; and “hospital system” is defined as an organized group of health care providers at least one constituent of which is a hospital, and “nonprofit clinic” is defined as an entity that is exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code and licensed as a clinic under section 51 of chapter 111 of the General Laws; furthermore, for the purposes of section 25C of chapter 111 of the General Laws and the regulations of the Department of Public Health issued thereunder, a person, including without limitation a physician or physicians engaged in the practice of medicine under the solo or physician group practice exclusion from the definition of “clinic” contained in section 52 of chapter 111 of the General Laws or a health care facility as defined in section 25B of chapter 111 of the General Laws, shall be deemed to be providing an innovative service or using a new technology, as such terms are defined by the Department of Public Health, if such person bills any third party payer for the technical or facility component of such innovative service or new technology, and in order to comply with the determination of need requirements of said section 25C and with said regulations, , no such person shall be permitted to share, lease, license or otherwise use, rely upon, or enter into any other financial arrangement with respect to, a determination of need or an implemented notice of intent to acquire medical, diagnostic or therapeutic equipment used to provide an innovative service or which is a new technology that has been issued to any third party, unless such determination of need or implemented notice of intent has been transferred from such third party to such person in accordance with the regulations of the Department of Public Health; provided, however, that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any such sharing, lease, license or use of, reliance upon, or other financial arrangement with respect to, a determination of need or an implemented notice of intent that was in operation on February 1, 2007.
The Department of the Attorney General shall enforce this section. The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction in equity to enforce the provisions of this section. Upon an initial determination of a violation of this section, the Department of the Attorney General shall forthwith seek injunctive relief in Superior Court. A violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $25,000 and not more than $100,000 per day of operation and by one or both of: (i) referral of the physician to the Board of Registration in Medicine for disciplinary action; and (ii) revocation of the health care facility’s license.