House Bill 843: Certificate of Need Modifications

• Increases the capital expenditure threshold for "diagnostic center" from $500,000 to $1,500,000 and "major medical equipment" from $750,000 to $2,000,000, with annual adjustments beginning September 30, 2022 using the Medical Care Index.

• Raises the capital expenditure threshold triggering certificate of need review for new institutional health services from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000, effective January 1, 2022.

• Exempts ambulatory surgical facilities in counties with populations of 100,000 or more from certificate of need review if certain conditions are met, including physician-hospital joint venture requirements and documented hospital transfer agreements.

• Requires newly developed ambulatory surgical facilities to commit to providing charity care equal to at least 4% of total revenue or the affiliate hospital's charity care percentage, whichever is greater, and to report annual case data by payer category.

• Establishes certificate of need expiration requirements: four years for projects costing over $50,000,000 and two years for projects costing $50,000,000 or less, and expires any certificate of need unused for 12 consecutive months.