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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5449
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 3155
Referred to Committee on INSURANCE AND REAL ESTATE
Introduced by:
(INS)
AN ACT CONCERNING CERTIFICATES OF NEED.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) No health care provider 1
required to obtain approval for a certificate of need to build a new 2
facility or expand an existing facility pursuant to chapter 319y or 368z 3
of the general statutes shall break ground on any new facility or 4
expansion of an existing facility until obtaining approval pursuant to 5
said chapters. 6
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2022) (a) The State of Connecticut 7
Health and Educational Facilities Authority shall not issue a bond to a 8
health care provider when such provider is required to obtain approval 9
for a certificate of need to build a new facility or expand an existing 10
facility pursuant to chapter 319y or 368z of the general statutes, unless 11
the authority has reviewed a capital budget with recommendations 12
provided by the Office of Health Strategy. 13
(b) The Office of Health Strategy, in making recommendations to the 14
State of Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority 15 Raised Bill No. 5449
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pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, shall assess the reasonableness 16
of the budget and the projected impact to the health care market and 17
pricing in the area. 18
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 19a-639a of the general statutes is 19
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 20
1, 2022): 21
(a) An application for a certificate of need shall be filed with the unit 22
in accordance with the provisions of this section and any regulations 23
adopted by the Office of Health Strategy. The application shall address 24
the guidelines and principles set forth in (1) subsection (a) of section 19a-25
639, and (2) regulations adopted by the department. The applicant shall 26
include with the application a nonrefundable application fee of [five 27
hundred] twenty-five thousand dollars. 28
Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) (a) (1) The Office of Health Strategy shall 29
conduct a study concerning certificates of need in the state. 30
(2) Not later than January 15, 2023, the Office of Health Strategy shall 31
submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the 32
general statutes, concerning the results of such study to the joint 33
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 34
matters relating to insurance. 35
(b) The report shall consider and make recommendations concerning 36
the following matters: 37
(1) The institution of a price increase cap that is tied to the cost growth 38
benchmark for consolidations; 39
(2) Guaranteed local representation of communities on hospital 40
boards; 41
(3) Changes to the Office of Health Strategy's long-term state-wide 42
health plan to include an analysis of services and facilities and the 43
impact of such services and facilities on equity and underserved 44
populations; 45 Raised Bill No. 5449
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(4) Setting standards for measuring quality as a result of a 46
consolidation; 47
(5) Enacting higher penalties for noncompliance and increasing the 48
staff needed for enforcement; 49
(6) The Attorney General's authority to stop activities as the result of 50
a certificate of need application or complaint; 51
(7) The ability of representatives of the workforce and the community 52
to intervene or appeal decisions; 53
(8) Giving the Office of Health Strategy the authority to require an 54
ongoing investment to address community needs; and 55
(9) Capturing lost property taxes from hospitals that have converted 56
to nonprofit entities. 57
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2022 19a-639a(a)
Sec. 4 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) require certificate of need approval before breaking ground, (2)
require the State of Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities
Authority to review certain information before issuing certain bonds, (3)
increase the application fee for certificates of need, and (4) require a
study concerning certificates of need.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]