Alpharetta, Ga.-based Legacy Sports testified to a Georgia House committee in support of a bill that would repeal the state's certificate of need law, Nelson Mullins reports.
What you should know:
1. HB 198 would replace the state's CON program with a special healthcare services license for most medical facilities, including ASCs, and create exemptions for certain ASCs and practices, including Legacy Sports.
2. Georgia's House Special Committee on Access to Quality Health Care reviewed the bill and heard testimony Feb. 13-14.
3. Legacy Sports testified in support of the bill and the competition it would facilitate, saying the legislation would allow high-quality facilities to develop. James Andrews, MD, runs the practice.
4. The Georgia Hospital Association spoke against the bill, citing concerns it would:
- Allow the development of freestanding imaging centers without licensure or quality review
- Allow freestanding cardiac catheterization labs to be placed anywhere, whereas hospitals developing those facilities face extensive regulations
- Allow the development multispecialty ASCs without regard to impact on existing medical services
5. Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Georgia Society of Ophthalmology and Georgia Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers also spoke in support of the bill. GHA was joined in opposition by the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, Macon, Ga.-based Navicent Health and others.
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