House Bill No. 6976 mandates the Department of Public Health (DPH) to establish requirements for hospital emergency department diversions, which occur when hospitals reroute incoming ambulances due to saturation of their emergency resources or lack of medical capability. The bill outlines that hospitals must adopt specific diversion policies, including permissible grounds and procedures for declaring a diversion, as well as requirements for receiving diverted patients. Additionally, emergency medical service (EMS) organizations are required to comply with these diversion requirements, and noncompliance may result in disciplinary actions such as license suspension or revocation.

The bill also stipulates that hospitals must notify the DPH before declaring an emergency department diversion, following procedures prescribed by the commissioner. The DPH commissioner is tasked with adopting regulations to implement these provisions, with the ability to implement interim policies and procedures that remain valid until final regulations are established. The effective date for these changes is set for July 1, 2025.