Healthcare Policy Update – Certificate of Need (CON)

Two anti-CON bills were considered at various points during the session, however thanks to an effective grassroots network, none of these bills received passage.

HB 1403 (Rep. Clint Crowe, R-Jackson) sought to provide for a new CON exemption for acute care hospitals in rural areas. The bill was introduced at the request of local investors that wish to relocate the current hospital and build a new hospital in Butts County, where Wellstar Sylvan Grove is located. The bill would have applied statewide. The legislation is unnecessary, as current CON regulations allow a rural hospital to move anywhere within the same rural county. The bill also risked bringing new entrants into rural counties, threatening existing rural hospitals and those in adjacent urban and suburban areas.

After failing to reach passage out of the House Committee, Rep. Mark Newton (R-Augusta) worked with Senate Health & Human Services Chairman Ben Watson (R-Savannah) to attach the bill’s language to a stalled bill (HB 697) in his Senate committee. After much debate and a tie breaking vote from Chairman Watson, HB 697 advanced to the Senate Rules Committee, where the bill ultimately died. In the final hours of the session, Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Forsyth) made a motion to once again amend the bill’s harmful language to another bill but the floor amendment was ruled non-germane and did not pass.

HB 1547 was another anti-CON bill that was voted out of the House Special Committee on Access to Quality Health Care  Chaired by Rep. Mark Newton) but was never voted out of the House Rules Committee. The bill proposed sweeping changes to the CON process and sought to fully repeal the program by January 2025. Additionally, it included unfair limitations on hospital authorities’ cash reserves and other financing restrictions for hospitals and authorities. Cash reserves provide much needed financial security for hospitals during an economic downturn, directly impact a hospital’s bond rating to support  financing and acted as a safety net to ensure hospitals were able to stay open during the pandemic. Prohibiting and disincentivizing hospitals to maintain robust cash reserves is irresponsible and jeopardizes community providers’ financial vitality during uncertain times.