Reference no: EM133839851

Question

Summarize: Certificate of need (CON) laws, established decades ago, require that a designated state agency be notified of and assess whether certain potential changes in services provided by health entities meet a demonstrated community need. State CON laws require health care entities, as defined in a state's statute, to gain approval from the state to open a new facility; to expand services offered at an existing facility; and to allow states to identify whether expanded services or additional capital expenditures would be in service of residents. Although two-thirds of states still operate CON programs, increasingly states are exempting hospitals and medical providers from the program. So the program's reach is more limited. State policymakers restricting CON often cite the goal to encourage greater competition in the market, and they note that, as designed, CON doesn't capture investment transactions nor many of the affiliations that are currently increasing consolidation. However, states that operate more comprehensive CON programs support them to maintain some level of market insight. The chart below summarizes existing CON laws and captures the wide variation in the facilities and actions subject to review, the allocation of state review authority, and the criteria considered during review.