A handful of Georgia’s most powerful leaders were on hand Friday when Gov. Brian Kemp signed a sweeping package of healthcare legislation into law during a ceremony in his hometown of Athens. The package addresses critical healthcare needs in rural Georgia and underserved communities – but one of the most notable bills signed into law will revise Georgia’s Certificate of Need (CON) process.
Other bills signed Friday will expand the Rural Physician Tax Credit, student loan forgiveness for rural health care professionals to include dental students, establish a loan repayment program for eligible mental health and substance use professionals, and reorganize the county boards of public health.
House Bill 1339, which reforms Georgia’s CON laws, was sponsored by Chairman Butch Parrish, R-Swainsboro, and co-sponsored by House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington.
“This bill signing marks a historic step in the House’s ongoing efforts to expand healthcare access in Georgia,” said Speaker Burns. “Chairman Parrish put in countless hours engaging with stakeholders and perfecting this legislation to ensure that this bill would pass in the state legislature and be signed into law by Governor Kemp, and I commend him for his tireless efforts to improve health outcomes for our citizens. Let me be very clear: this was a state-led effort through and through, and Georgians can rest assured that we will continue our work at the state-level to deliver real solutions that expand access to quality, affordable healthcare for all Georgians in every corner of this state.”
According to the bill sponsors, the legislation will ease certain restrictions related to the construction and expansion of hospitals in rural Georgia. It will also shorten the time period for review of hospital applications and will expand the rural hospital tax credit program. Other provisions of the bill include expanding hospital bed capacities, extending the maximum distance for certain healthcare facilities to relocate without a CON, expanding rural hospital perinatal services, as well as exempting psychiatric or substance abuse inpatient programs for Medicaid and uninsured patients from CON requirements when an agreement is reached with a nearby hospital.
HB 1339 will also create the Comprehensive Health Coverage Commission that will advise the General Assembly, Governor and Department of Community Health on the quality of and access to healthcare by low-income and uninsured populations, including reimbursement, funding, quality improvement and service delivery enhancement opportunities. The nine-member panel will be led by a health policy expert who is appointed by Kemp and must be in place by this July.
“With the Governor’s signature of House Bill 1339, we are taking a huge step forward to expand access to quality, affordable healthcare in our state—particularly in our rural communities. We know that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to healthcare, but I firmly believe this legislation is a bold step in the right direction,” said Parrish. “We will continue working with our friends in the Senate to improve healthcare outcomes across our state, and I look forward to building on this important work.”
This was a priority issue for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was on hand for the signing.
“The reforms in this bill are critical first steps to removing barriers to quality health care created by Georgia’s antiquated CON laws,” said Jones. “Our efforts will expand health care access regardless of zip code, as seen by recent efforts in Cuthbert. I am proud of the work we have dune thus far to reform our CON laws, and I want to thank Governor Kemp and Speaker Burns for their support. I look forward to continuing our work to provide better access to health care services for all Georgians.”
