N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 3631: Special powers of the corporation

§ 3631. Special powers of the corporation. In order to effectuate the

purposes of this title, the corporation shall have the following

additional powers, except as limited by this title, the public health

law, the mental hygiene law, the social services law, the education law,

the civil practice law and rules, and any other applicable law or

regulation:

1. To operate, manage, superintend, and control any health facility

under its jurisdiction and to repair, maintain, and otherwise keep up

any such health facility, and to establish, collect, and adjust fees,

rentals, and other charges for the sale, lease, or sublease of any such

health facility or real property, subject to the terms and conditions of

any contract, lease, sublease, or other agreement with the county;

2. To provide health and medical services for the public, directly or

by agreement or lease with any person, firm, partnership, limited

liability company, or private or public corporation or association

through or in the health facilities of the corporation or otherwise, and

to make internal policies governing admissions and health and medical

services; and to establish, collect, and adjust fees and other charges

for the provision of such health and medical services; and to provide

and maintain training programs for resident physicians, post-graduate

clinical fellows, graduate students, other allied health professionals

and intern medical services; and to sponsor and conduct research,

educational, and training programs;

3. To provide uncompensated care to persons in need of health care

services without the ability to pay;

4. To provide, maintain, and operate a medical transport service;

provided, however, that nothing in this section shall prohibit the

corporation from adopting a schedule of charges for medical transport;

5. To participate in managed care networks, fee-for-service, and other

joint and cooperative arrangements for the provision of general

comprehensive and specialty health care services, directly or through

contract with other service providers or entities;

6. To establish subsidiary corporations or other entities in

accordance with subdivision nine of this section:

(a) to meet the demands of health care delivery changes; and

(b) to market, manufacture, or develop products or services developed

by the corporation's clinical and research activities;

7. To enter into contracts, leases, subleases, and other agreements

for the purpose of affiliating with a medical college or colleges,

including the state university of New York, in conjunction with the

corporation's health facilities, which agreements may provide for the

management, operation, and staffing of health facilities, the

reconstruction, renovation, or addition to health facilities; the

provision of necessary facilities, utilities, and services; and such

other conditions or features necessary and proper for such purpose and

for the public health and general welfare;

8. To determine the conditions under which a physician may be extended

the privilege of practicing within a health facility under the

jurisdiction of the corporation, to promulgate reasonable internal

policies for the conduct of all persons, physicians, and allied health

practitioners within such facility, and to appoint and grant privileges

to qualified and competent clinical practitioners; and

9. (a) Except as provided in this subdivision or as expressly limited

by any applicable state law or regulation, to exercise and perform all

or part of its purposes, powers, duties, functions, or activities

through one or more subsidiary corporations or companies owned or

controlled wholly or in part by the corporation, which shall be formed

pursuant to the business corporation law, the limited liability company

law, or the not-for-profit corporation law, in each case subject to all

the limitations provided in this title.

(b) Any such subsidiary may be authorized to act as a general or

limited partner in a partnership or as a member of a limited liability

company and to enter into an arrangement calling for an initial and

subsequent payment by such subsidiary in consideration of an interest in

revenues or other contractual rights.

(c) No subsidiary of the corporation shall own, operate, manage, or

control the existing acute inpatient and outpatient facilities and

services in operation as part of the Erie County Medical Center

healthcare network on the effective date of this title.

(d) An entity shall be deemed a subsidiary corporation or company

whenever and so long as: (i) more than half of any voting shares of such

subsidiary are owned or held by the corporation or (ii) a majority of

the directors, trustees, or members of such subsidiary are designees of

the corporation.

10. As set forth in section thirty-six hundred twenty-six of this

title, the creation and operation of the Erie County Medical Center

Corporation is in all respects for the benefit of the people of the

state of New York and of the county of Erie and is a state, county, and

public purpose. The exercise by such corporation of the functions,

powers, and duties provided in this title constitutes the performance of

an essential public and governmental function. The corporation has

advised that it intends to continue engaging in certain collaborative

activities with, and limited to, the other parties to the Great Lakes

Health, Inc. Restated Binding Agreement of 2012 and the University at

Buffalo of the State University of New York for the purpose of promoting

improved quality of and access to health care services and improved

clinical outcomes, consisting of: (a) development of a non-exclusive

joint health information technology platform; (b) joint marketing of

health care services; (c) joint purchasing of services, supplies and

equipment related to the provision of health care services; (d)

development of a joint set of clinical quality standards; (e)

coordination and integration of clinical services to reduce redundancy

and increase efficiency; (f) joint management of graduate medical

education and academic affiliations; and (g) joint discussions with

rural hospitals regarding the possibility of coordinating and

integrating clinical services. To promote improved quality of and access

to health care services and improved clinical outcomes, and consistent

with the corporation's furtherance of its health care purposes through

the exercise of the special powers exercised pursuant to this section

and the general powers exercised pursuant to this title, it is the

policy of the state to supplant competition for the purpose of

immunizing the planning and implementation of the enumerated activities

by the corporation in collaboration with any one of the aforementioned

entities from liability under the federal and state antitrust laws, to

the extent that such collaborative activities are reflected in

agreements executed by two or more of the aforementioned entities during

such time as the Great Lakes Health, Inc. Restated Binding Agreement of

2012 remains in effect; provided, however, that nothing in this

subdivision shall be construed to extend such declaration of policy to

any activities other than those specifically enumerated and described

herein, which remain subject to any and all applicable state and federal

antitrust laws.