{"id":2200270,"date":"2024-03-16T09:09:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-16T13:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-senate-passes-certificate-of-need-reform-measure\/"},"modified":"2024-03-16T09:18:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-16T13:18:41","slug":"georgia-senate-passes-certificate-of-need-reform-measure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-senate-passes-certificate-of-need-reform-measure\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Senate Approves Healthcare Certificate of Need Reform Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgeorgia-senate-passes-certificate-of-need-reform-measure%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2200270&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Georgia Senate Strides Toward \u200cHealthcare Accessibility With CON Law \u200cReform<\/h2>\n<p>In an effort to transform healthcare access \u200cacross Georgia, the\u200b state Senate has <strong>successfully passed House Bill 1339<\/strong>, aiming \u2062to overhaul the state&#8217;s dated certificate\u200c of need (CON) laws. Moving\u200d forward with a significant 43-11 \u2063majority, lawmakers are bringing new hope to communities with the promise of improved healthcare services.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;In Georgia, your zip code should not determine\u200b your access to quality healthcare; that includes areas \u2062like South Fulton and Cuthbert,&#8221; Lt. Governor Burt Jones, a Republican, said in a statement.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Keeping the momentum, the House now \u200crevisits this pivotal measure which has already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ag-ken-paxton-calls-on-texas-house-speaker-to-resign-over-slurring-episode-stymying-election-integrity-bills\/\" title=\"Paxton urges Texas House Speaker to step down after slurring incident and blocking election integrity bills.\">received substantial support<\/a>, setting the stage for potential \u200cstatewide improvements in patient care.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Background and Broader Impacts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Considered a relic from the 1970s, Georgia&#8217;s CON laws\u200b were originally designed to standardize the\u200b need for healthcare facilities and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-joe-bidens-bbb-day-care-provision-would-significantly-increase-cost-of-service\/\" title=\"Report: Joe Biden\u2019s BBB Day Care Provision Would Significantly Increase Cost of Service\">control costs<\/a> while ensuring access for all citizens. The current \u2064reform bill introduces wider exemptions from these regulations\u200d but stops short \u200dof a full repeal. This measured approach reflects last year&#8217;s legislative hesitation\u2064 and the differing recommendations\u2064 from Senate and House study committees on the CON mandate&#8217;s\u200d future.<\/p>\n<h3>Elevating Healthcare: The Prospects Of House Bill 1339<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Expanded access \u200dto care, especially in under-served communities<\/li>\n<li>Updated regulations\u2063 to \u200creflect modern healthcare needs<\/li>\n<li>Newly created <strong>Comprehensive Health\u2064 Coverage Commission<\/strong> to guide healthcare improvements for\u2063 low-income and uninsured citizens<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>An emphasis on removing bureaucratic barriers has been met with approval from organizations like Americans for Prosperity \u2013 Georgia. Their State Director, Tony West, highlighted the bill&#8217;s facilitation of care for mothers and \u200bnewborns, offering a \u200bsignificant nod to the needs of perinatal services and birthing centers.<\/p>\n<h3>Debate and Opposition<\/h3>\n<p>Yet, not all reactions are celebratory. Critics, including the Georgia Alliance of\u2064 Community Hospitals, warn of potential risks to rural hospitals already grappling with the burdens of\u2063 uninsured patient care. The concern is\u2062 that despite\u200b increased exemptions, the financial viability of these critical, yet vulnerable, healthcare providers \u2062might be at stake without broader systemic changes like Medicaid expansion.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Certificate of Need helps ensure\u2063 lower patient costs and protects\u2063 hospitals\u2019 financial stability, but the increased exemptions in the Senate version of HB 1339 will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-press-biden-to-get-tough-on-cuba\/\" title=\"House Republicans Press Biden to Get Tough on Cuba\">put additional pressure<\/a> on already suffering hospitals,&#8221; Monty Veazey, president and CEO of the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, said.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In contrast, Georgia Democrats continue \u2064to champion Medicaid expansion, arguing that the state&#8217;s recent <strong>Pathways to Coverage<\/strong> program\u2063 isn&#8217;t\u200b a sufficient \u2062solution.<\/p>\n<p>As House Bill 1339 reenters the House, its ramifications are fiercely debated.\u200d Proponents see it as a leap towards \u2063accessibility and modernization of healthcare \u2063services, while opponents caution against the potential economic strain it represents for the state&#8217;s most fragile medical institutions.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s clear is\u2063 that the goal of equitable healthcare access remains paramount, with the state&#8217;s leaders pushing for reform that balances expanding\u200d services with maintaining\u2064 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/study-more-than-150-million-people-will-cancel-a-paid-streaming-subscription-in-2022\/\" title=\"Study: More Than 150 Million People will Cancel a Paid Streaming Subscription in 2022\">financial health<\/a> of\u200b its hospitals. The journey towards reconciling these objectives continues as Georgia&#8217;s lawmakers cast their next decisive votes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Georgia Senate Advances Reform of Certificate of Need Laws with a 43-11 vote on House Bill 1339. Following the House&#8217;s prior approval, the bill returns for reconsideration. This follows last year&#8217;s discussions on eliminating the requirement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2200271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ap-17305568609733-1024x591.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2200270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ap-17305568609733-1024x591.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2200270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2200271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2200270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2200270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2200270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}