Legislature reaches agreement to loosen hospital regulations

Bil should lead to opening of more health care centers.

Georgia’s two legislative chambers reached an agreement Thursday to enable more health care centers to open in the state, despite a failed last-minute attempt to pair the measure with an expansion of Medicaid.

The debate had centered on how far the rules governing the establishment of new hospitals should be scaled back. That discussion also led to deliberation over the role of hospitals in providing care, especially in rural areas, and how the opening of other kinds of health facilities could affect them.

New hospitals in Georgia must demonstrate a significant need for care in order to open through a process called certificate of need. The rules were developed in 1974 to comply with a federal mandate requiring states to regulate new medical facilities to help control the costs of government reimbursements for Medicaid and Medicare.

“If it were up to us, we would abolish the entire CON process,” said Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens.

House Bill 1339, sponsored by Rep. Butch Parrish, R-Swainsboro, would ease regulations governing the construction and expansion of hospitals in rural counties. It also would shorten the timeline for review of hospitals’ applications and expand the rural hospital tax credit program, giving taxpayers a credit toward their state tax bill if they donate to qualifying medical facilities.

Proponents of repealing CON said that it would allow more Georgians to have closer access to health care, instead of having to drive more than 30 miles for emergencies. They also point to a dearth of obstetrics and gynecological care as well as labor and delivery centers. As the state struggles with a mental health crisis, lawmakers pointed to provisions that would allow psychiatric services to expand more easily.

But rural hospital CEOs and advocates cautioned against full elimination of the program, fearing it would allow more free-standing outpatient care facilities to open, forcing hospitals to compete with them for staff, physicians and patients. In their initial proposal, Senate Republicans wanted to pave the way for more of those facilities, where patients can undergo minor surgical procedures without going to a hospital.

Throughout the three-month legislative session, House and Senate Democrats have maintained that to truly support financially strained hospitals, Georgia should expand Medicaid. Georgia is one of just 10 states that have not accepted federal funding to expand Medicaid. Instead, lawmakers pushed the topic to a study commission that will meet this summer.