Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law that makes several changes to the state's certificate-of-need requirements.
Certificate-of-need laws require hospitals to seek approval from the state to build new facilities, add services or increase bed counts. The goal of the law is to limit unnecessary services and increase competition.
Under the new law, signed by Mr. Lee May 26, hospitals would have annual fees increased from paying up to $300, to paying up to $5,000 for the certificate-of-need program. Ambulatory surgery centers will have to pay $2,000, up from $100. Lawmakers said they expect the fees to help bring in $1.3 million in revenue per year.
In addition, mental health hospitals, hospital-based outpatient treatment centers for opioid addiction would be exempt and not need a certificate-of-need to open. Additionally, existing hospitals could increase their bed count at their main facility without approval. But, they would still need to apply to add new types of beds or add beds at any satellite location.
The bill also decreases the certificate-of-need application process by 75 days.