HOUSE BILL 370

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Doreen Y. Gallegos and Dayan Hochman-Vigil

and Joshua N. Hernandez

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO HOSPITAL STAFFING; PROHIBITING HOSPITALS FROM DENYING CREDENTIALING TO HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS BASED ON ECONOMIC FACTORS.

 

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

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] HOSPITAL CREDENTIALING REQUIREMENTS.--

          A. A hospital receiving local, state or federal funds shall not deny medical staff membership or clinical privileges for reasons other than a physician's individual qualifications as determined, uniformly applied to all medical staff applicants and members. When implementing credentialing criteria, each hospital shall formulate and apply reasonable, nondiscriminatory standards for the evaluation of an applicant's credentials. The owner of each hospital shall ensure that decisions on clinical privileges and staff membership are based on an objective evaluation of an applicant's credentials, free of anti-competitive intent or purpose. Whenever possible, the staff who evaluate and determine the qualifications of applicants for clinical privileges and staff membership shall include members of the applicant's profession.

          B. Hospitals shall not consider the following factors when evaluating the qualifications for staff membership or clinical privileges:

                (1) an applicant's membership or lack of membership in a professional society or association;

                (2) an applicant's decision to advertise, lower fees or engage in competitive acts intended to solicit business;

                (3) an applicant's participation in prepaid group health plans, salaried employment or any other manner of delivering health services in exchange for remuneration;

                (4) an applicant's support for, training of or participation in a private group practice with members of a particular class of health professional;

                (5) an applicant's practices with respect to testifying in malpractice lawsuits, disciplinary actions or any other type of legal proceeding;

                (6) an applicant's willingness to send a certain number of patients to the hospital for services. This paragraph shall not apply to hospitals that are publicly owned;

                (7) whether an applicant is providing medical or health care services at a different hospital, hospital system, outpatient facility or other licensed health care facility; or

                (8) economic criteria that are unrelated to quality of care or professional competence.

          C. For the purposes of this section, "hospital" does not include any health care facilities owned and operated by the university of New Mexico health system.

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