AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT DIVERSION.

HB 6976 requires Connecticut's Department of Public Health (DPH) to establish rules for when hospitals reroute ambulances due to emergency department overcrowding ("saturation") or lack of medical capacity. It mandates hospitals to adopt specific diversion policies, notify DPH before declaring a diversion, and follow defined procedures for both declaring and ending diversions. The bill also sets requirements for hospitals receiving diverted patients and obligates emergency medical services (EMS) organizations to comply with DPH rules, subjecting noncompliant EMS groups to disciplinary action like license suspension. This law directly affects hospitals, EMS providers, and ambulance services by standardizing emergency department diversion protocols. It takes effect July 1, 2025, with no anticipated fiscal impact.