Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 93.djvu/670

 93 STAT. 638

29 USC 167.

Guidelines, promulgation, consultation, with HEW.

PUBLIC LAW 96-79—OCT. 4, 1979 to be discontinued by the applicant, (ii) in the case of an application for the conversion of a facility, determine the need for each service which will be provided as a result of the conversion, and (iii) make a recommendation to the State Agency for the State in which the applicant is located respecting approval by the Secretary of the applicant's application. "(B) A State Agency which has received a recommendation from a health systems agency under subparagraph (A) respecting an application shall, after consideration of such recommendation, make a recommendation to the Secretary respecting the approval by the Secretary of the application. A State Agency's recommendation under this subparagraph respecting the approval of an application (i) shall be based upon (I) the need for each service or part proposed to be discontinued by the applicant, (II) in the case of an application for the conversion of a facility, the need for each service which will be provided as a result of the conversion, and (III) such other criteria as the Secretary may prescribe, and (ii) shall be accompanied by the health systems agency's recommendation made with respect to the approval of the application. "(C) In determining, under subparagraphs (A) and (B), the need for the service (or services) or part proposed to be discontinued or converted by an applicant for a grant, a health systems agency and State Agency shall give special consideration to the unmet needs and existing access patterns of urban or rural poverty populations. "(3)(A) The Secretary may not approve an application of a hospital for a grant— "(i) if a State Agency recommended that the application not be approved, or "(ii) if the Secretary is unable to determine that the cost of providing inpatient health services in the health service area in which the applicant is located will be less than if the inpatient health services proposed to be discontinued were not discontinued. "(B) In considering applications of hospitals for grants the Secretary shall consider the recommendations of health systems agencies and State Agencies and shall give special consideration to applications (i) which will assist health systems agencies and State Agencies to meet the goals in their health systems plans and State health plans, or (ii) which will result in the greatest reduction in hospital costs within a health service area. "(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the Secretary may not approve an application submitted under subsection (b) unless the Secretary of Labor has certified that fair and equitable arrangements have been made to protect the interests of employees affected by the discontinuance of services against a worsening of their positions with respect to their employment, including arrangements to preserve the rights of employees under collective-bargaining agreements, continuation of collective-bargaining rights consistent with the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act, reassignment of affected employees to other jobs, retraining programs, protecting pension, health benefits, and other fringe benefits of affected employees, and arranging adequate severance pay, if necessary. "(2) The Secretary of Labor shall by regulation prescribe guidelines for arrangements for the protection of the interests of employees affected by the discontinuance of hospital services. The Secretary of Labor shall consult with the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the promulgation of such guidelines. Such guidelines shall first be promulgated not later than the promulgation of regulations

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