An Act relative to emergency response and preparedness in the event of a surge in pediatric or adult hospitalizations
Generates a plain-language summary of the bill text and history.
| Date | Branch | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 2/26/2026 | Senate | Accompanied a study order, see S2972↗ |
| 1/5/2026 | Senate | Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on Health Care Financing |
| 9/25/2025 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 10/22/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2 |
| 2/27/2025 | Senate | Referred to the committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management |
No additional cosponsors.
| Committee | Recommendation | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| J52 | Favorable | 1 entries |
| J24 | Accompanied | — |
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in the event that: 1) hospital inpatient staffed-bed capacity rates meet or exceed 85% for any type of hospital bed, including but not limited to inpatient adult and pediatric general medical/surgical beds, inpatient adult and pediatric critical care beds, or inpatient adult or pediatric behavioral health care beds, for a period of 72 hours or more in a given Health and Medical Coordinating Coalition (HMCC) Region, as defined by the Department of Public Health, or 2) the DPH activates its Capacity Planning and Response Guidance for Acute Care Hospitals, then: the Division of Insurance, in collaboration with the Department of Public Health, shall direct all health insurance carriers to waive any prior authorization requirements that impact the transportation or discharge of patients from the hospitals in said region for a period of not less than 30 days or, in the case of activation of said capacity planning and response guidance, for the duration of the Department’s activation of said guidance. The Division, in consultation with the Department, shall publish guidance implementing the provisions of this section within 30 days of the passage of this act.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in the event that: 1) hospital inpatient staffed-bed capacity rates meet or exceed 85% for any type of hospital bed, including but not limited to inpatient adult and pediatric general medical/surgical beds, inpatient adult and pediatric critical care beds, or inpatient adult or pediatric behavioral health care beds, for a period of 72 hours or more in a given Health and Medical Coordinating Coalition (HMCC) Region, as defined by the Department of Public Health, or 2) the DPH activates its Capacity Planning and Response Guidance for Acute Care Hospitals, then: the Division of Insurance, in collaboration with the Department of Public Health, shall direct all health insurance carriers to waive any prior authorization requirements that impact the transportation or discharge of patients from the hospitals in said region for a period of not less than 30 days or, in the case of activation of said capacity planning and response guidance, for the duration of the Department’s activation of said guidance. The Division, in consultation with the Department, shall publish guidance implementing the provisions of this section within 30 days of the passage of this act.