Currently, over 30 states in the U.S. have certificate of need laws that impact ASCs in some way, meaning they need to obtain state permission to build facilities, make expansions or buy expensive equipment.
Here are two states planning to loosen CON laws this year:
1. Beginning May 29, hospitals in Mississippi will be able to establish single-specialty ASCs without obtaining a certificate of need, which can be a difficult and lengthy process. Under the new rule, hospitals may establish single-specialty ASCs through the submission of an application for a determination of non-reviewability.
2. The North Carolina Senate has proposed its budget for the next two fiscal years, with a provision that would allow single-specialty ASCs to convert to multispecialty ASCs without going through a certificate of need process.