in north carolina Required certificate The law is still being challenged by a lawsuit first filed in 2020. Jay Singletonan ophthalmologist in New Bern. CON requires that NC: Department The Department of Health and Human Services will determine: need Enabling health services to be delivered in the community before health care providers are available apply To provide you with services.
singleton sued He wanted to perform outpatient eye surgery in his clinic, so he approached NCDHHS, but the department found no need for a surgical facility in his area.
of North Carolina Supreme Court dominated The case was sent back to the trial court in October of this year. The case will then be tried as follows: facial This means that the CON could be found unconstitutional in any application. singleton Originally This means that a judgment in his favor would overturn the CON only in his circumstances.
“What are the important points in the Supreme Court case, which is currently being sent back to the trial court?” [is] “If the plaintiffs succeed, they will not only be making incremental changes to the law to scale it back, but also repealing the law entirely,” the UNC law professor said. Richard Saber said. “It’s going to be monumental.”
saver said Data on the health care effects of repealing CON laws in other states are subject to conflicting interpretations. he said Even if CON is repealed in North Carolina, competition among medical facilities is likely to continue in areas where there is high competition.
Without the CON Act, one would hope that existing competition would drive down prices and encourage potential new providers to carefully consider entering the market, while one or two providers would Areas with only people could face increased competition, he said. Said.
he said When one health system applies for a CON, other health systems try to obtain it themselves or claim they don’t need it, likely leading to increased regulatory costs and delays.
“Certainly we’ve seen some interesting battles in Orange County and the Triangle” Saber said. “I like to joke with my students that if they think the Duke-UNC basketball game is going to be tough, they should look at when the game is played. duke health system and UNC Health System This is a dispute over a certificate application. ”
saver said Repeal could have a negative impact on rural areas because CON encourages health care providers to open medical facilities in underserved areas.
