(a)  Prior to (1) closing , (2) eliminating or reducing the level of medical services provided by, or (3) the leasing, selling, or transfer of management of, a county facility, the board shall provide public notice, including notice posted at the entrance to all county health care facilities, of public hearings to be held by the board prior to its decision to proceed. The notice shall be posted not less than 14 days prior to the public hearings. The notice shall contain a list of the proposed reductions or changes, by facility and service. The notice shall include the amount and type of each proposed change, the expected savings, and the number of persons affected.

(b)  Notwithstanding the board’s closing of, the elimination of or reduction in the level of services provided by, or the leasing, selling, or transfer of management of, a county facility subsequent to January 1, 1975, the county shall fulfill its duty to provide care to all indigent people, either directly through county facilities or indirectly through alternative means.

(1)  Where the county duty is fulfilled by a contractual arrangement with a private facility or individual, the facility or individual shall assume the county’s full obligation to provide care to those who cannot afford it, and make their services available to Medi-Cal and Medicare recipients.

(2)  Where the county duty is fulfilled by alternative means, the facility or individual providing services shall be in compliance with Sections 441.18 and 1277.

(3)  The board shall designate an agency to provide a 24-hour information service that can give eligible people immediate information on the available services and access to them, and an agency to receive and respond to complaints from people eligible for services under this chapter. The designated agency may be the agency that operates the facility. This subdivision applies only in instances in which there is (1) a closing of, (2) an elimination or reduction in the level of services provided by, or (3) the leasing, selling, or transfer of, a county facility.

(4)  The board shall arrange for all facilities or individuals contracting to provide services to indigent people to be listed in the local telephone directory under county listings, and shall specify therein that the facilities or individuals fulfill the obligations of county facilities.

(5)  § 25371 of the Government Code does not relieve the county of the obligation to comply with this section.

(Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 83, Sec. 101. Effective January 1, 2000.)