ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia lawmakers agreed Thursday to a plan to loosen some of the state’s medical licensing laws.
The House and Senate gave final approval to House Bill 1339, sending it to Governor Brian Kemp for approval or veto.
The move will allow the historic Black Morehouse School of Medicine to open a hospital in downtown Atlanta and provide services once provided by the closed medical institution. atlanta medical center. It would also allow hospitals to open without permits in rural counties that previously had hospitals. It’s already closed Over 12 months. This could allow a hospital in the southwestern Georgia town of Cuthbert to reopen after it closed in 2020.
A certificate of need, in place in Georgia since the 1970s, requires anyone wishing to build a medical facility or provide new services to prove the expansion is necessary. This authorization is intended to prevent overspending that would lead to increased medical costs. Republican Lt. Gov. Bert Jones has made reducing or eliminating the rules a priority. Conflict between Jones and House Speaker John Burns Last year revolved in part on plans to build a new hospital in Butts County, where Jones lives. The existing hospital there opposes the plan.
“For decades, unfortunately, CON laws have been a barrier to expanding quality health care,” Jones said in a statement Thursday. “This is a step toward reforming and reducing the obstacles Georgians face in their efforts to receive accessible, high-quality health care.” ”
The House rejected some changes sought by the Senate, including allowing ambulatory surgery centers to offer multiple departments without a permit and allowing new imaging centers to open without a permit.
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House members agreed to allow outpatient birth centers to open without permits. The bill would allow new hospitals to be built in counties with fewer than 50,000 people as long as they agree to provide certain charity care, participate in a statewide trauma system, and provide psychiatric services. There is. It would also remove caps on how much existing hospitals can spend on buildings and equipment unless they provide new services, making it easier to move beds between campuses and relocate hospitals.
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