Laws regulating hospital construction under review in Georgia

Atlanta – State legislators have eased restrictions on Georgia’s Certificate of Necessity (CON) law for years. This made it easier for health care providers to build new health facilities or provide new health services without proving that the community needed them. Full repeal of CON laws, bolstered by a six-figure advertising campaign launched ahead of this year’s General Assembly sessions by Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a conservative advocacy group founded by the Koch Brothers to do. It’s about determining whether your town can afford a new hospital, or whether your doctor can order a new X-ray machine.

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“These laws require providers to obtain government permits to open new offices or provide new services. The upcoming debate under the Gold Dome promises to pit free market advocates, including AFP, against Georgia’s politically influential hospital industry representatives. Monty Vesey, president and CEO of Tifton-based Georgia, said: Regional Hospital Alliance representing state non-profit hospitals. “[But] No one would build a hospital in the countryside where they cannot earn money. ”

History of Georgia CON

Georgia’s CON law was first passed in 1979 to comply with federal mandates aimed at avoiding duplication and reducing healthcare costs. About 30 states now have her CON legislation. Georgia legislators have lifted some of the law’s restrictions since it was first adopted. In 2008, Congress exempted a physician-owned ambulatory surgery center with a single specialty from having to obtain her CON from the state’s Department of Community Health (DCH). 35 miles of the proposed location of the new facility seeking proof of need. The General Assembly met again in 2019 and raised the capex threshold that required an applicant to apply for her CON from $3 million to $10 million. The 2019 law also exempted the CON Act, which planned to acquire an existing medical facility with a corporate restructuring. These legislative changes were made almost four years ago, but DCH’s board didn’t adopt final rules implementing them until last March due to delays caused by the pandemic, said executive Anna Adams. said vice president of foreign affairs for the Georgia Hospital Association. Because of these delays, it is too early for lawmakers to consider further changes to her CON, Adams said. “Some of these items are not yet implemented.” “Let’s wait for these to work.”

What is the future of Kon?

It is unclear whether the legislation introduced at this year’s General Assembly will call for further easing of restrictions in the CON Act, their complete repeal, or both. He also does research for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a think tank that advocates a free market approach to public policy issues. “There are many ways of piecemeal reform,” said Kyle Wingfield, president and chief executive of the foundation. Another firm, Denson said, would allow applicants for new ambulatory surgery centers to submit only a letter of non-review (LNR) to the state, not a CON. said he planned to. Unlike a CON application, the LNR process does not allow third parties to challenge the project, he said. He cites a recent study from the Mercatus Center, another free-market think tank at George Mason University in Virginia, that found states without CON laws opened more new hospitals than CON states. Did.

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“Pennsylvania has very similar local characteristics to Georgia and has not had a CON Act since 1997,” he said. “Nine rural hospitals have closed in Georgia since 2005. Pennsylvania has closed five hospitals. This will not only increase access, but it will also reduce costs.” But Veazey said the closure of CON will only add to ambulatory surgery centers already concentrated in areas where they don’t need them. And rural hospitals will have a patient mix that is skewed toward those without health insurance. “We need to serve all patients, regardless of their ability to pay,” Veazey said. “It’s not a level playing field. A free market approach works in the hotel industry and restaurants,” he added Adams. “Even if the county doesn’t have as many restaurants as we would like, no one dies. … Georgia already has problems accessing healthcare. [repealing] CON is not modified. ”This article is available through a news partnership with the Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.

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