GROUP PURCHASING FOR DISPROPORTIONATE SHARE HOSPITALS.

(a) A public or private hospital that is designated as a disproportionate share hospital during a fiscal year may purchase goods and services in accordance with this section during the succeeding fiscal year. A purchase of goods or services made in accordance with this section is considered to satisfy any state law requiring purchases by competitive bidding or competitive proposals.

(b) A state or local governmental entity may allow the public or private hospital to purchase goods or services by participating in one or more of the entity's contracts for the purchase of goods or services.

(c) The public or private hospital may purchase goods or services in accordance with this section through a group purchasing program that offers discount prices to hospitals or other providers of health care services.

(d) The executive commissioner with the assistance of the comptroller shall adopt rules under this section that allow the public or private hospital to make purchases through group purchasing programs except when the commission has reason to believe that a better value is available through another procurement method.

(e) This section applies to private hospitals only to the extent it authorizes private hospitals to participate in purchasing contracts with governmental entities or to satisfy any state law that may require goods and services the hospital purchases to be competitively procured. This section does not impose new purchasing requirements on a private hospital, except to the extent that the private hospital agrees to be bound by the terms of a contract that is authorized by this section and that it chooses to enter. This section does not affect any explicit or implicit authority that a private hospital has under other law to participate in a group purchasing program or to participate in a purchasing contract with a public entity.