SB 462 which makes changes to NC’s outdated and draconian Certificate of Need (CON) laws is on its way to Governor Cooper’s desk. The John Locke Foundation has advocated for CON reform for decades. CON laws drive up costs, limit access and impede quality of health care.  Although this year’s reforms stop short of complete repeal, it is a great move forward and one JLF has actively supported.

WRAL summarizes the changes:

  • Increase the threshold above which certificates of need would be required for diagnostic equipment from $500,000 to $1.5 million
  • Increase the threshold for major medical equipment from $750,000 to $2 million
  • Increase the threshold for capital expenditures for new institutional health services from $2 million to $4 million
  • Index all these thresholds to inflation to be adjusted at the end of September each year, starting next year
  • Add new caps to the length of time a certificate can be held before construction starts. Projects costing more than $50 million would have to begin within four years, and projects costing $50 million or less would have to start within two years.

The bill passed the House 100-3 and the Senate 48-1. Governor Cooper should sign it right away.

For everything you’d like to know and more about CON, JLF has you covered:

www.healthcarefreedom.com

226 research pieces from JLF: https://www.johnlocke.org/?s=Certificate+of+Need

483 entries in Carolina Journal: https://www.carolinajournal.com/?s=certificate+of+need

You can count on JLF to continue to push for additional reforms until NC’s CON laws are repealed completely.  In the meantime, SB 462 is a great move forward.