It’s been a little over one week since the House filed HB 200, which would loosen up the state’s Certificate of Need (CON) law — a regulatory burden requiring medical providers to ask permission from the state and their competitors before expanding their businesses.

Under HB 200, the following would be exempt from CON review:

  • Diagnostic centers
  • Ambulatory surgical facilities
  • Gastrointestinal endoscopy rooms
  • Psychiatric hospitals

The fact that HB 200 allows for the establishment of physician-led surgery centers has no doubt caused a backlash from tax-exempt, non-profit North Carolina hospitals, arguing that they will lose their most lucrative services to specialty hospitals. But do hospitals realize how slight this reform really is? ASCs would be required to provide 7% charity care, and construction is prohibited in counties with a population of less than 100,000 people. Which means patients in 73 of the 100 counties in the state will not be able to potentially enjoy better access to more affordable health care through this reform.

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Is it really necessary for hospitals to be screaming about this piecemeal bill? The turf war will only get more interesting once the Senate weighs in with their version of CON reform, most likely a comprehensive repeal of this antiquated law.