When faced with an urgent medical need, patients should have a clear voice in decisions about where they receive care.
New Hampshire House Bill 1215 ensures that when patients require care beyond what a medical facility can provide, they are informed of their options and can choose where that care is delivered. Transparency is essential to helping patients and families make informed decisions about their care.
As leaders of health systems serving communities across central and southern New Hampshire, we support this bipartisan legislation. New Hampshire House Bill 1215 has received strong support from members of both parties in the New Hampshire Senate and is now moving through the legislative process in the New Hampshire House, with continued bipartisan backing. The legislation strengthens protections for patients receiving medical care at a freestanding emergency room and reinforces the importance of patient-centered decision-making.
As more freestanding emergency rooms are built in communities across the state, patients who arrive with conditions such as heart attacks, strokes or serious injuries will most likely need to be transferred to a full-service hospital. In life-threatening situations, patients should be transferred to the closest medical facility that provides the needed level of care. In less serious situations, patients should have the choice of where they are admitted. In many cases, being close to home, family and established care teams can make a meaningful difference in a patient’s recovery.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are supporting this legislation because it ensures that patient choice remains a priority. If the goal of these facilities is to expand access to care, their placement does not reflect that, as they are not being developed in underserved areas where access is limited. Instead, they are being built in the state’s second- and third-largest cities, where multiple full-service hospitals already provide comprehensive emergency care.
New Hampshire House Bill 1215 is not about limiting access or opposing new models of care. Rather, it ensures that emergency care remains transparent, coordinated and centered on patients and families during critical moments. The legislation works alongside state and federal laws, strengthening those protections by ensuring patients are informed of their options and have a voice in where they receive further treatment. Together, these safeguards help create a more patient-centered health care system across our state.
We urge policymakers in the New Hampshire House to support this legislation, which strengthens transparency and protects patient choice in emergency medical care.
Robert P. Steigmeyer is the president and CEO of the Concord Hospital Health System. Colin McHugh is the president and CEO of Southern New Hampshire Health. John A. Jurczyk is president of St. Joseph Hospital.