§ 236-B — Rural health council

§ 236-b. Rural health council. 1. There shall be established within\nthe office a rural health council to be composed of twenty-one members\nwho shall be appointed by the governor, with ten of these members\nappointed as follows:\n a. four members upon the recommendation of the temporary president of\nthe senate;\n b. one member upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the\nsenate;\n c. four members upon the recommendation of the speaker of the\nassembly; and\n d. one member upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the\nassembly.\n Vacancies in the membership of such council shall be filled by the\nappropriate appointing authority. The governor shall select a\nchairperson from among the members of the council. The members of the\ncouncil shall be reflective of the state's rural areas, as defined in\nsubdivision seven of section four hundred eighty-one of the executive\nlaw, and shall include representatives of health care providers that\ncomprise the health care delivery system in the state's rural areas,\nindividuals with expertise in clinical and administrative aspects of\nhealth care delivery, health care financing and reimbursement, health\ncare regulation, public health, health planning, health workforce\neducation, and behavioral health.\n 2. The rural health council shall be responsible for advising the\ncommissioner with respect to all aspects of rural health care and rural\nhealth care delivery including, but not limited to, the impact of\nproposed programs, statutes, regulations and health care reimbursement\npolicies. The rural health council shall also assist the office with its\nresponsibilities as delineated in section two hundred thirty-six of this\ntitle; contribute to the biennial report required pursuant to section\ntwo hundred thirty-seven of this title, and act as liaison and advocate\non rural health matters.\n 3. The rural health council shall recommend to the department\ncost-effective ways to obtain timely data on the status of the health\ncare workforce supply in rural areas. At least once every three years\nthe rural health council shall, in conjunction with the office, submit a\nreport to the regional economic development councils on the status of\nthe health care workforce supply in their respective regions to the\nextent data on the health care workforce supply is available.\n 4. Staff support for the rural health council shall be provided for by\nthe office as provided for in section two hundred thirty-six of this\ntitle.\n 5. The rural health council shall meet as frequently as its business\nmay require, but not less than two times a year. Meetings may be called\nby the chairperson at the request of the commissioner.\n 6. The entirety of each meeting of the rural health council shall be\nlive webcast to the public on the department's website, and archived on\nthe department's website, for a period of no less than two years, within\ntwenty-four hours of the adjournment of the last meeting. The department\nshall provide notice to the public, via the department's website, of the\navailability of the live webcast of each such meeting.\n 7. The members of the rural health council shall receive no\ncompensation for their services, but shall be allowed their actual and\nnecessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties\nhereunder.\n