The newly formed House Select Committee on Certificate of Need (CON) Process and Related Hospital Issues met for the second time on Thursday, October 6, 2011. Chaired by Rep. John Torbett (R-Gaston) and Rep. Fred Steen (R-Rowan), the committee heard testimony from the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the state’s inventory of regulated facilities as well as statistics regarding the review process for CON applications.  View the handouts from that presentation here.

Following the presentation by the Department, the Committee heard testimony regarding the current climate for hospital operations from the NC Hospital Association as well as a presentation by Noah Huffstetler, a partner with the law firm Nelson Mullins. View the NCHA presentation here and the presentation by Mr. Huffstetler here.

The committee is scheduled to meet again in the first of several meetings to be held across the state on Thursday, October 20, 2011, at 6:00 pm at the WNC Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher, NC.

The committee will take a look at the overall CON process. Additionally, the committee will look at two specific issues raised in bills during the 2011 long session:  HB 743 raised questions about the academic medical centers exemption, and HB 812 addressed the county line rule used in making need determinations. The NCMS Legislative Staff will provide updates and more information in the Bulletin and at https://www.compassionatecarenc.org/. Questions may be directed to Chip Baggett at mailto:[email protected] or call 919-833-3836.