A senate committee focused their sights on a new bill that will effect Georgia’s Certificate of Need (CON) law. On Tuesday, senators and healthcare providers gathered to discuss Georgia’s Certificate of Need (CON) law which some healthcare representatives say is outdated.
A state senate committee approved legislation that would replace Georgia’s CON law governing hospitals with a less restrictive “special health-care service” license. The CON law, which the general assembly passed back in 1979, requires applicants wishing to build a new hospital or provide a new medical service to demonstrate a need for it in their community
The bill helps ensure that Georgia hospitals with the highest concentration of Medicaid patients and patients without health insurance no longer have to shoulder the financial burden of uncompensated care. The bill would establish a “direct payment plan” without using state dollars to cover uncompensated care.
If passed and signed by Governor Kemp the bill will go into effect on January 1, 2024. State Senator Colton Moore who represents Walker, Dade, Catoosa and Chattooga Counties in the Georgia Senate has expressed his desire to see the CON law changed.
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