Certificate-of-need reform passes Tennessee General Assembly mainstreetclarksville.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mainstreetclarksville.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Before leaving Nashville last week, Tennessee lawmakers passed certificate-of-need reform, which would reduce the requirements and costs associated with opening, reopening or expanding a hospital.
CON laws require providers to prove an area has a need before they can provide health care services. The idea behind CON regulations was that the state would limit the number of hospital beds available because empty beds, in theory, amounted to higher costs for those who used the hospital.
Many states, including Tennessee, suspended CON rules during the COVID-19 pandemic and now are moving to limit their cost and impact going forward. Thirty-five states require CONs and, according to a Mercatus Center study, Tennessee ranked in the top 12 of states with the highest number of regulated hospital services.