Committee advances Health System Protection Act to let attorney general review certain health care transactions

The House Health Committee voted to report House Bill 1460, the Health System Protection Act as amended, which creates a notice and review process for certain health care facility transactions and gives the Office of the Attorney General authority to examine transactions that may be “against the public interest.”

Under the amended bill, parties to a transaction involving a for‑profit hospital, for‑profit nursing home or other covered health care entity must file notice with the attorney general for transactions exceeding a materiality threshold; the committee amendment raised that threshold from $5 million to $10 million. The attorney general would have a 60‑day initial review period (down from 90 days in the original draft), with a court‑approved mechanism for additional extensions; the amendment also removed practitioner organizations from coverage and required notification to the municipal governing body when the attorney general holds public hearings. The attorney general may negotiate voluntary agreements with conditions or file in court to block transactions found to be against the public interest; the office may contract for experts and the entities would pay related costs. The bill requires coordination between the attorney general’s office and the Department of Health, and allows monitoring of transactions for up to five years when appropriate. Materials submitted to the attorney general in the review process would be exempt from use in civil cases, subpoena and the Right‑to‑Know Law, according to the bill text summarized in committee.

Representative Borowski, the bill’s prime sponsor, said the measure was driven by recent hospital closures and private equity activity that she and others argued had harmed local health care access, citing Crozer and other cases. Representative Bonner offered an agreed amendment (A000836) that removed independent practitioner organizations from coverage, doubled the materiality threshold to $10 million, shortened the attorney general’s review calendar and added municipal notification for public hearings; the amendment passed.

Committee discussion covered a wide range of concerns and suggested refinements. Representative VanKemp (spelling as in transcript) said the bill still did not address broader antitrust and reimbursement issues, warned that permitting payers to weigh in could create de facto veto power, and urged narrower focus on private equity in acute care hospitals. Representative Roy and others questioned why nonprofit hospitals were not included; Representative Bonner and others said nonprofit governance already has some oversight. Representatives emphasized the fiscal and operational implications for facilities that would be required to pay attorney general review costs and for the attorney general’s ability to contract experts. Representative Khan, Representative Boyd and others described local harms they said resulted from private equity purchases.

Formal action: the committee adopted amendment A000836 and voted to report House Bill 1460 as amended. The committee recorded the vote tally as 20 yes, 6 no.

What happens next: the bill will proceed to the next stage of the House process. Sponsors and chairs said they expect further amendments and stakeholder engagement as the measure moves through the legislature.