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State reexamining CON laws

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, June 28, 2005

Legislators in South Carolina are trying to determine whether to improve or remove the state's certificate-of-need (CON) program that limits construction of many healthcare facilities, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Since 1971, the state has regulated where and when hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities are built.

The regulations require projects exceeds $2 million in construction costs to undergo an extensive review process to determine, in general, whether the services offered by the new facility are necessary to the community in which it is built.

State Rep. Kenny Bingham (R-Cayce) pushed for the formation of a 10-member study committee after state regulators denied a medical center from starting an open-heart surgery program. The request was opposed by two neighboring hospitals.

The committee, which has yet to be formed, must submit recommendations on the CON program to the state Legislature in January, according to the AP.

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