Certificate of Need Update

The Certificate of Need (CON) program has been eliminated for general hospitals as of July 1. CON, which has been in effect in Florida since the 1970’s, is a regulatory process that requires certain healthcare providers to obtain state approval before offering certain new or expanded services. WellFlorida provides services for the Florida CON program, including facilitating public hearings on proposed CON projects, monitoring approved projects and filing status reports to the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). The new law keeps CON requirements for specialty hospitals in place until July 1, 2021. Tallahassee is now focusing on reshaping CON for other institutions such as nursing homes, hospices and facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities.

For more information about CON, be sure to read Health News Florida’s recent article by Christine Sexton, News Service of Florida: Further Changes to Certificate of Need Program Proposed. Readers may also want to see AHCA’s website page on the CON program.