Substitute Bill No. 440 - Summary

• Effective October 1, 2024, requires certificates of need for new health care facilities, ownership transfers, freestanding emergency departments, cardiac services, and certain medical equipment acquisitions

• Adds new requirements for certificates of need involving private equity company investments in health care facilities and large group practices with 10+ physicians, and for relocations of outpatient and behavioral health services outside their current municipality

• Reduces review timelines from 90 days to 30 days for standard applications and from 60 days to 20 days for large group practice transfers, with automatic approval if decisions not issued within deadlines

• Transfers responsibility for cost and market impact reviews of hospital ownership transfers from the Health Systems Planning Unit to the Office of the Attorney General, with independent consultant costs capped at $200,000 per application

• Prohibits insurance companies from exercising operational, managerial, or decision-making control over health care institutions effective October 1, 2024