(The Center Square) — A Georgia Senate Study Committee began exploring what action lawmakers should take on reforming or repealing the state’s certificate of need program.
The committee, created with the passage of Senate Resolution 279, is holding meetings across the state and will make recommendations for lawmakers to consider when the legislative session resumes in January.
“Research has shown overwhelmingly that CON laws limit access, lower quality, and raise costs,” Chris Denson, director of policy and research at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, said in a statement to The Center Square. “We are glad that the Georgia Senate is further examining this issue and look forward to the possibility of significant repeal in the 2024 legislative session. With ongoing concerns about hospital closures, why do we maintain a law that makes it harder —and in some cases impossible— to expand or open new healthcare facilities?
“In the past four years, neighboring states in South Carolina and Florida have almost completely eliminated their CON programs,” Denson added. “Georgia now stands at risk of falling behind when it comes to innovation and investment in healthcare.”
Last month, South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster signed a measure to repeal the state’s certificate of need regulations for most healthcare facilities. The measure, S.164, establishes a three-year sunset of the CON requirement for hospitals except in counties that do not have one, where the mandate is repealed immediately.
Anna Adams, executive vice president, external affairs, for the Georgia Hospital Association, urged lawmakers to look at CON not as a barrier to care but as a gateway that protects Peach State patients and ensures they receive quality care.
“When we talk about certificate of need, what is the problem that we’re trying to solve for?” Adams asked the committee. “Is it that patients don’t have access to all services; is it that they don’t have access to certain services? Is it about affordability? What is the issue that we’re truly trying to get at?”
Adams said the association has launched a working group to offer recommendations “at the appropriate time.”
“…We have issues across the state with access to trauma care; we have issues with maternal mortality. Each of those things is a really large, substantial issue that I think all of you want to address and have been trying to address,” Adams added. “And they’re not necessarily linked to certificate of need. So what we would ask is that you … take a holistic approach to looking at healthcare, trying to figure out where we can make some changes that will be helpful for hospitals, physician practices, nurses, etc.”
