There are four bills proposed in the North Carolina legislature to change the state's certificate-of-need laws — one proposing drastic changes to how ASCs are subject to CON review.
The current CON laws, which have been in effect in North Carolina since 1977, regulate the acquisition and development of healthcare services, including ASC facilities, JD Supra reported April 13.
One of the bills currently in the state Senate would exempt CON review proposals for the development, acquisition and expansion of ASCs that received CON approval before Oct. 1, 2019, and for ASCs in counties with a population of 100,000 or more.
Any capital expenditures exceeding $4 million would also be exempt from CON review with the proposed bill.
Another two bills, one in the House and one in the Senate, propose to repeal the CON law entirely. Both were referred to congressional committees.
The fourth bill, currently in the Senate, aims to update the law by increasing cost thresholds triggering CON review for diagnostic centers, health services and medical equipment.
North Carolina legislators considered a pair of actions to repeal CONs in the state in mid-2019, but the actions never advanced past the initial stages. The state also suspended its CON laws temporarily March 12, 2020, to combat COVID-19.