By Mr. Kujawski of Webster, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2186) of Paul Kujawski and others relative to the leasing of certain innovative medical services and the  use of new technology in the delivery of health care.  Public Health.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PETITION OF:

Paul Kujawski

Michael W. Morrissey

Robert S. Creedon, Jr.

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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.

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An Act relative to the leasing of certain innovative 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. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 25I the following section:

Section 25J.

Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, 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 a notice filed with the Department of Public Health in accordance with chapter 495 of the Acts of 1991, or a notice filed with said Department in accordance with section 6 of chapter 350 of the Acts of 1993,  to acquire medical, diagnostic or therapeutic equipment used to provide an innovative service or which is a new technology, as defined by the Department of Public Health, 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 for an innovative service or new technology, that was in operation at one location as a fixed unit, serving one physician, a physician group or one health care facility, as of February 1, 2007. 

The Department Public Health, in conjunction with the Office 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 Public Health, in conjunction with the Office 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.