GNYHA has filed with the NYS Supreme Court, Albany County, a motion for leave to appear as an amicus curiae in support of the authority of the Public Health Council (PHC) and the NYS Department of Health (DOH) to consider the impact of proposed freestanding, non-hospital-sponsored ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) on surrounding hospitals and their services when the PHC and DOH review applications for certificates of need (CON). GNYHA's motion is in response to litigation initiated by the South Shore Surgery Center (whose application to establish a freestanding ASC in Islip, New York, has not yet been approved) challenging the PHC voting process and the authority of the PHC and DOH to consider the impact of proposed ASCs on surrounding hospitals and their services. 

GNYHA takes the position that the PHC has not only the authority but the responsibility to take into account the impact that new freestanding ASCs might have on surrounding hospitals and the essential health care services the hospitals provide to their communities. In support of this position, GNYHA outlines the relevant provisions of NYS's Public Health Law, DOH regulations and guidelines governing the establishment of ASCs in particular, and the purposes and goals of health planning as undertaken by the State of New York. GNYHA's filing of an amicus curiae brief was undertaken with DOH's consent.

GNYHA has long called for a moratorium on the establishment of new freestanding, non-hospital-sponsored ASCs because of their negative impact on hospitals and hospitals' ability to provide services to their communities. ASCs tend to concentrate on low-risk, high-profitability cases, leaving hospitals with higher-risk, lower-profitability cases and the responsibility to provide the full array of services their communities require, many of which result in significant losses for hospitals. The report of the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century underscores that freestanding ASCs deprive hospitals of much-needed revenue and correspondingly undermine their ability to serve their communities. 

 If you have questions about GNYHA's brief or the litigation, contact Susan C. Waltman or Rebecca Urbach at GNYHA. For more information about GNYHA's activities with respect to ASCs and the CON process, contact Doris Varlese at GNYHA.