Sen. Tammy Baldwin introduces bill to limit disruptions caused by sudden hospital closures like HSHS shutdowns in Wisconsin

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin introduced a bill Thursday designed to limit some of the disruptions caused by sudden hospital closures like the ones announced earlier this year in western Wisconsin.

The bill would require hospital systems that are closing or cutting services to notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 90 days in advance and would allow the federal agency to request a mitigation plan to ensure patients in the area can still get the care they need.

The bill comes after Hospital Sisters Health System permanently closed two hospitals in western Wisconsin this year, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire and HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls, citing "prolonged operational and financial stress." As part of the closures, Prevea Health also shut down 19 clinics across Wisconsin's Chippewa Valley.

The closures were announced in late January, two months before the hospitals were closed in late March.

"When hospitals like HSHS close with little to no notice for their patients, Wisconsinites are left high and dry and with no options to find the sometimes lifesaving care they need,” Baldwin said in a press release. “If a big hospital is going to shut down in one of our communities, they should help ensure patients don’t slip through the cracks when they are gone."

Baldwin, a Democrat, is seeking a third Senate term and faces a challenge from Republican businessman Eric Hovde in November's election.

The bill also comes at a time when Milwaukee officials and community members have expressed concern about cuts to hospital services in some low-income communities. Even before the pandemic, in 2018, Ascension Wisconsin attempted to severely limit services at St. Joseph hospital on the city's west side, a plan that the health system ultimately abandoned following community pressure.

Under Baldwin's bill, a mitigation plan submitted by a hospital would be accompanied by a public comment period, during which the public could submit written comments about the impact of the discontinuation of services or closure.

The bill would allow HHS to develop an alternative plan to the one submitted by the hospital if the agency finds the closure or discontinuation of services would have a "significant impact on access to essential services."

In a February letter to HSHS's president and CEO, Baldwin voiced disappointment in the health system's "abrupt announcement" and called on the health system to delay the closures or to at least remain open until late April, the date HSHS first announced the closures would occur by.

The closures caused disruptions to patients' care. After its January announcement, HSHS said most procedures scheduled at Sacred Heart after the announcement would be cancelled "in preparation for the anticipated closure."

Under Baldwin's bill, a hospital would be prohibited from discontinuing essential services during the three-month period before closure, unless there was a clear harm to patients' or employees' safety.

The bill would also require HHS to submit regular reports to Congress on the hospital closures and eliminated services at hospitals, including an analysis of their impact and a description of trends.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Baldwin offers bill to limit harm caused by sudden hospital closures