An Act Concerning Hospital-affiliated Physicians.
SB 1452 would create a set of employment and staffing protections for physicians working in hospital-affiliated settings. The bill limits how many patients an attending physician may be assigned during a 12-hour shift at a hospital, unless the hospital pays enhanced compensation or an amount tied to the hospital’s expected reimbursement under a relative value unit methodology, whichever is greater. It also restricts health systems from making staffing changes to physician group practices without consulting the physicians involved, and in some cases requires state review and approval before a staffing change can be implemented.
The bill further bars a health system from forcing a physician in a group practice to join another group practice without consent. For larger staffing changes—defined as changes affecting 50 percent or more of a large group practice’s workforce—the health system must provide 180 days’ notice to the affected practice and the Commissioner of Health Strategy, submit an application for approval, and wait for a decision before proceeding. The commissioner must consider effects on patient care, service levels, and physician well-being, and may adopt implementing regulations. The bill also prohibits hospitals and other institutions from terminating physicians except for just cause based solely on the physician’s own performance or conduct, and it voids at-will termination clauses in physician employment contracts entered into on or after October 1, 2025.
If enacted, the bill would add new statutory limits on hospital and health-system management of physician labor, staffing, and termination practices, effective October 1, 2025. It would create new duties for hospitals, health systems, the Commissioner of Health Strategy, and the Department of Public Health, including notice, application review, approval authority, and possible appointment of an independent monitor. The measure would also affect physician employment contracts by invalidating at-will termination provisions for covered physicians and would likely alter staffing, compensation, and restructuring practices in hospital-affiliated medical groups.
No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no direct evidence of support or opposition from hearings or floor debate. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears designed to protect physician autonomy, job security, and patient care continuity in hospital-affiliated practices. Its overall tone is regulatory and protective rather than punitive, suggesting a policy goal of constraining health-system control over physician staffing decisions.
The main points of contention are likely to be the bill’s limits on hospital and health-system discretion in staffing and employment decisions. Hospitals and health systems may object to the patient-assignment cap, mandatory pay premium, advance notice requirements, state approval process for major staffing changes, and the prohibition on at-will termination, arguing these provisions could increase costs and reduce operational flexibility. Physicians and physician advocates are likely to support the bill because it gives them greater protection against forced reassignments, staffing reductions, and termination without cause, while also creating state oversight intended to protect patient care and physician well-being.