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Sen. Curt VanderWall (R-Ludington), a lead sponsor on a group of bills relating to certificate of need recently introduced in the Michigan Senate, says the legislation could reduce medical costs while increasing access to care for Michigan residents.
The certificate of need, which is governed by a commission and reviewed by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, regulates the opening or expanding of health care facilities and services in the state.
“Critical access hospitals are already highly regulated in order to receive the critical access hospital designation, and certificate of need is just another administrative burden that may inhibit their ability to provide access to Michiganders in medically underserved areas," VanderWall said in a statement. “The process of getting approved for a certificate of need for covered capital expenditures is costly and unnecessary given that there are no standards by which to reject an application.”
VanderWall introduced four of the bills in the group, which include exemption for critical access hospitals more than 35 miles away from another hospital from a certificate of need and eliminating "covered capital expenditures" as part of the certificate of need process, according to a press release from VanderWall's office.
The bills are SB 669, 670, 672 and 673.
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