The Health Policy Commission, an independent state agency, is looking to play a larger role in Massachusetts hospital closures, according to the Boston Business Journal.
That larger role would include analyzing closure impacts and giving input to the Department of Public Health, according to the report.
"What we said is we're going to help you. We're going to be involved, we're going to look into it and provide you with the information," Health Policy Commission Chairman Stuart Altman told the Boston Business Journal.
Although the Health Policy Commission wants to be allowed to give input to the Department of Public Health and wants closing hospitals to notify the commission of a closure, it is not asking for regulatory control, "but rather to lend its analytical eye to another area of hospital operations," according to the report. The commission has made a formal request with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
Just this year, Northern Berkshire Healthcare in North Adams, Mass., closed North Adams Regional Hospital, its home health facility and its three hospital-owned physician practices in March, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in early April. Additionally, 124-year-old Quincy (Mass.) Medical Center, an affiliate with Boston-based Steward Health Care System, has officially closed, but the 24-hour satellite emergency care facility remains open.
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