SENATE BILL 776

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005

INTRODUCED BY

Timothy Z. Jennings

AN ACT

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE; PROHIBITING CERTAIN HOSPITALS FROM DENYING MEDICAL STAFF PRIVILEGES FOR REASONS OTHER THAN A PHYSICIAN'S INDIVIDUAL QUALIFICATIONS; PROVIDING FOR APPEALS AND SANCTIONS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. ECONOMIC CREDENTIALING.--

          A. A hospital licensed by the department of health, certified for participation in medicaid or medicare or receiving funding from local or state sources shall not:

                (1) use economic criteria unrelated to quality of care or professional competence in determining a physician's qualifications for initial or continuing hospital medical staff membership or privileges; or

                (2) deny medical staff membership or clinical privileges for reasons other than a physician's individual qualifications as determined by professional and ethical criteria.

          B. A physician who is denied membership or privileges by a hospital may appeal the hospital's decision to the New Mexico medical board. In a hearing conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform Licensing Act, the board shall determine if the physician is professionally competent.

          C. If, subsequent to a finding by the New Mexico medical board that a physician is professionally competent, the hospital continues to deny staff membership or clinical privileges to the physician:

                (1) the department of health shall suspend the medicaid or medicare certification for that hospital; and

                (2) no additional state or local funding shall be disbursed to that hospital.

          D. The provisions of this section do not apply to a decision of a hospital located in a class A county with a population exceeding five hundred thousand according to the most recent federal decennial census.

          E. For the purposes of this section, "hospital" means a public hospital, a for-profit or nonprofit private hospital or a general or special hospital.

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