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BY BUDDY NEVINS

A bill has passed the House which would shine a light on any attempt by the county’s big public hospital system Broward Health to lease or sell its property.

With just five days left in the regular session, it cannot be predicted if the measure will make it through the Senate.  Senators have the option of taking the House bill up or attaching its language to another health care bill.

State Rep. Gwyndolen Clarke-Reed, D-Deerfield Beach, was crowing about the bill today in a news release.

Gwyndolen Clarke-Reed

Here is her news release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                     CONTACT: Dawn Smith

850-488-0880

CLARKE-REED PRAISES HOUSE PASSAGE OF HOSPITAL SALE/LEASE BILL; SAYS IT SENDS A STRONG MESSAGE TO BROWARD HEALTH; TELLS BROWARD HEALTH EXECS AND BOARD NOT TO RUSH TO LEASE OR SELL BEFORE EFFECTIVE DATE OF LEGISLATION

Tallahassee—Broward County State Representative  Gwyndolen Clarke-Reed (D-92) today commended passage of House Bill 619 which relates to the sale or lease of  public hospital systems such as Broward Health. She issued the following Statement.

“As a Member of the House Health & Human Services Access Subcommittee, I am pleased that the House today passed HB 619 filed by Representative Ed Hooper and of which I was a cosponsor. It assures transparency, accountability and that the poor, under and uninsured will receive access to quality health care in any sale or lease of a public  hospital such as Broward Health–some of  whose facilities and many of its patients and employees are in my District.

This Bill assures that there will be no behind closed door, inside dealing or politics and that taxpayers receive fair market value in such sale or a lease. Most important, it states that any acquiring entity must have made ‘an enforceable commitment to ensure that quality health care will continue to be provided to all residents of the community, in particular the indigent, the uninsured, and the underinsured’

I am especially pleased that the Bill requires hospital governing boards, such as Broward Health’s, to make a determination that operating the hospital is no longer in the public’ interest, to ascertain whether there are any qualified purchasers or lessees and to make a determination that the quality care, particularly to the indigent, under and uninsured, will not be affected by such a transaction.

Given the fact that the North Broward Hospital District Board   opposed this Bill, and an earlier one filed by me to require approval of such transactions by the Legislature,  I am pleased that the House passed the Bill by the substantial majority of 95-20. This should send a strong message to the management and Board of Broward Health. I hope that, regardless of what happens in the Senate, that they will abide by the spirit of  transparency, accountability and quality health care assurances for the poor set forth in the Bill. The impact on taxpayers, patients, doctors, nurses and employees must be the first concern any transaction…  Most important, I would caution them not to rush lease or sell Broward Health before this Bill’s effective date in January 2012.

Clarke-Reed is the ranking Democrat on the House Redistricting Subcommittee; a Member of the Education Committee; and, the PreK-12 Appropriations and the Ranking Member on K-20 Competiveness Subcommittee.

Closed.