UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 1 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed AN ACT relating to certificate of need. 1 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2 Section 1. KRS 216B.020 is amended to read as follows: 3 (1) (a) The provisions of this chapter that relate to the issuance of a certificate of 4 need shall not apply to: 5 1. Abortion facilities as defined in KRS 216B.015; 6 2. Any hospital which does not charge its patients for hospital services and 7 does not seek or accept Medicare, Medicaid, or other financial support 8 from the federal government or any state government; 9 3. Assisted living residences; family care homes; state veterans' nursing 10 homes; 11 4. Services provided on a contractual basis in a rural primary-care hospital 12 as provided under KRS 216.380; 13 5. Community mental health centers for services as defined in KRS 14 Chapter 210; 15 6. Primary care centers; 16 7. Rural health clinics; 17 8. Private duty nursing services operating as health care services agencies 18 as defined in KRS 216.718; 19 9. Group homes; 20 10. Licensed residential crisis stabilization units; 21 11. Licensed free-standing residential substance use disorder treatment 22 programs with sixteen (16) or fewer beds, but not including Levels I and 23 II psychiatric residential treatment facilities or licensed psychiatric 24 inpatient beds; 25 12. Outpatient behavioral health treatment, but not including partial 26 hospitalization programs; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 2 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed 13. End stage renal disease dialysis facilities, freestanding or hospital based; 1 14. Swing beds; 2 15. Special clinics, including but not limited to wellness, weight loss, family 3 planning, disability determination, speech and hearing, counseling, 4 pulmonary care, and other clinics which only provide diagnostic 5 services with equipment not exceeding the major medical equipment 6 cost threshold and for which there are no review criteria in the state 7 health plan; 8 16. Nonclinically related expenditures; 9 17. Nursing home beds that shall be exclusively limited to on-campus 10 residents of a certified continuing care retirement community; 11 18. Home health services provided by a continuing care retirement 12 community to its on-campus residents; 13 19. The relocation of hospital administrative or outpatient services into 14 medical office buildings which are on or contiguous to the premises of 15 the hospital; 16 20. The relocation of acute care beds which occur among acute care 17 hospitals under common ownership and which are located in the same 18 area development district so long as there is no substantial change in 19 services and the relocation does not result in the establishment of a new 20 service at the receiving hospital for which a certificate of need is 21 required; 22 21. The redistribution of beds by licensure classification within an acute 23 care hospital so long as the redistribution does not increase the total 24 licensed bed capacity of the hospital; 25 22. Residential hospice facilities established by licensed hospice programs; 26 23. The following health services provided on site in an existing health 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 3 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed facility when the cost is less than six hundred thousand dollars 1 ($600,000) and the services are in place by December 30, 1991: 2 a. Psychiatric care where chemical dependency services are 3 provided;[,] 4 b. Level I[one (1)] and Level II[two (2)] of neonatal care; and[,] 5 c. Cardiac catheterization[,] and open heart surgery where cardiac 6 catheterization services are in place as of July 15, 1990; or 7 24. Ambulance services operating in accordance with subsection (6), (7), or 8 (8) of this section. 9 (b) The[These listed] facilities or services listed in paragraph (a) of this 10 subsection shall be subject to licensure, when applicable. 11 (2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize the licensure, supervision, 12 regulation, or control in any manner of: 13 (a) Private offices and clinics of physicians, dentists, and other practitioners of 14 the healing arts, except any physician's office that meets the criteria set forth 15 in KRS 216B.015(5) or that meets the definition of an ambulatory surgical 16 center as set out in KRS 216B.015; 17 (b) Office buildings built by or on behalf of a health facility for the exclusive use 18 of physicians, dentists, and other practitioners of the healing arts; unless the 19 physician's office meets the criteria set forth in KRS 216B.015(5), or unless 20 the physician's office is also an abortion facility as defined in KRS 216B.015, 21 except no capital expenditure or expenses relating to any such building shall 22 be chargeable to or reimbursable as a cost for providing inpatient services 23 offered by a health facility; 24 (c) Outpatient health facilities or health services that: 25 1. Do not provide services or hold patients in the facility after midnight; 26 and 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 4 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed 2. Are exempt from certificate of need and licensure under subsection (3) 1 of this section; 2 (d) Dispensaries and first-aid stations located within business or industrial 3 establishments maintained solely for the use of employees, if the facility does 4 not contain inpatient or resident beds for patients or employees who generally 5 remain in the facility for more than twenty-four (24) hours; 6 (e) Establishments, such as motels, hotels, and boarding houses, which provide 7 domiciliary and auxiliary commercial services, but do not provide any health 8 related services and boarding houses which are operated by persons 9 contracting with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for 10 boarding services; 11 (f) The remedial care or treatment of residents or patients in any home or 12 institution conducted only for those who rely solely upon treatment by prayer 13 or spiritual means in accordance with the creed or tenets of any recognized 14 church or religious denomination and recognized by that church or 15 denomination; and 16 (g) On-duty police and fire department personnel assisting in emergency 17 situations by providing first aid or transportation when regular emergency 18 units licensed to provide first aid or transportation are unable to arrive at the 19 scene of an emergency situation within a reasonable time. 20 (3) The following outpatient categories of care shall be exempt from certificate of need 21 and licensure on July 14, 2018: 22 (a) Primary care centers; 23 (b) Special health clinics, unless the clinic provides pain management services 24 and is located off the campus of the hospital that has majority ownership 25 interest; 26 (c) Specialized medical technology services, unless providing a state health plan 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 5 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed service; 1 (d) Retail-based health clinics and ambulatory care clinics that provide 2 nonemergency, noninvasive treatment of patients; 3 (e) Ambulatory care clinics treating minor illnesses and injuries; 4 (f) Mobile health services, unless providing a service in the state health plan; 5 (g) Rehabilitation agencies; 6 (h) Rural health clinics; and 7 (i) Off-campus, hospital-acquired physician practices. 8 (4) The exemptions established by subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall not 9 apply to the following categories of care: 10 (a) An ambulatory surgical center as defined by KRS 216B.015[(4)]; 11 (b) A health facility or health service that provides one (1) of the following types 12 of services: 13 1. Cardiac catheterization; 14 2. Megavoltage radiation therapy; 15 3. Adult day health care; 16 4. Behavioral health services; 17 5. Chronic renal dialysis; 18 6. Birthing services; or 19 7. Emergency services above the level of treatment for minor illnesses or 20 injuries; 21 (c) A pain management facility as defined by KRS 218A.175[(1)]; 22 (d) An abortion facility that requires licensure pursuant to KRS 216B.0431; or 23 (e) A health facility or health service that requests an expenditure that exceeds the 24 major medical expenditure minimum. 25 (5) An existing facility licensed as an intermediate care or nursing home shall notify 26 the cabinet of its intent to change to a nursing facility as defined in Pub. L. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 6 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed No.[Public Law] 100-203. A certificate of need shall not be required for conversion 1 of an intermediate care or nursing home to the nursing facility licensure category. 2 (6) Ambulance services owned and operated by a city government, which propose to 3 provide services in coterminous cities outside of the ambulance service's designated 4 geographic service area, shall not be required to obtain a certificate of need if the 5 governing body of the city in which the ambulance services are to be provided 6 enters into an agreement with the ambulance service to provide services in the city. 7 (7) Ambulance services owned by a hospital shall not be required to obtain a certificate 8 of need for the sole purpose of providing non-emergency and emergency transport 9 services originating from its hospital. 10 (8) (a) As used in this subsection, "emergency ambulance transport services" means 11 the transportation of an individual that has an emergency medical condition 12 with acute symptoms of sufficient severity that the absence of immediate 13 medical attention could reasonably be expected to place the individual's health 14 in serious jeopardy or result in the serious impairment or dysfunction of the 15 individual's bodily organs. 16 (b) A city or county government that has conducted a public hearing for the 17 purposes of demonstrating that an imperative need exists in the city or county 18 to provide emergency ambulance transport services within its jurisdictional 19 boundaries shall not be required to obtain a certificate of need for the city or 20 county to: 21 1. Directly provide emergency ambulance transport services as defined in 22 this subsection within the city's or county's jurisdictional boundaries; or 23 2. Enter into a contract with a hospital or hospitals within its jurisdiction, 24 or within an adjoining county if there are no hospitals located within the 25 county, for the provision of emergency ambulance transport services as 26 defined in this subsection within the city's or county's jurisdictional 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 7 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed boundaries. 1 (c) Any license obtained under KRS Chapter 311A by a city or county for the 2 provision of ambulance services operating under a certificate of need 3 exclusion pursuant to this subsection shall be held exclusively by the city or 4 county government and shall not be transferrable to any other entity. 5 (d) Prior to obtaining the written agreement of a city, an ambulance service 6 operating under a county government certificate of need exclusion pursuant to 7 this subsection shall not provide emergency ambulance transport services 8 within the boundaries of any city that: 9 1. Possesses a certificate of need to provide emergency ambulance 10 services; 11 2. Has an agency or department thereof that holds a certificate of need to 12 provide emergency ambulance services; or 13 3. Is providing emergency ambulance transport services within its 14 jurisdictional boundaries pursuant to this subsection. 15 (9) (a) Except where a certificate of need is not required pursuant to subsection (6), 16 (7), or (8) of this section, the cabinet shall grant nonsubstantive review for a 17 certificate of need proposal to establish an ambulance service that is owned by 18 a: 19 1. City government; 20 2. County government; or 21 3. Hospital, in accordance with paragraph (b) of this subsection. 22 (b) A notice shall be sent by the cabinet to all cities and counties that a certificate 23 of need proposal to establish an ambulance service has been submitted by a 24 hospital. The legislative bodies of the cities and counties affected by the 25 hospital's certificate of need proposal shall provide a response to the cabinet 26 within thirty (30) days of receiving the notice. The failure of a city or county 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 8 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed legislative body to respond to the notice shall be deemed to be support for the 1 proposal. 2 (c) An ambulance service established under this subsection shall not be 3 transferred to another entity that does not meet the requirements of paragraph 4 (a) of this subsection without first obtaining a substantive certificate of need. 5 (10) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a continuing care retirement 6 community's nursing home beds shall not be certified as Medicaid eligible unless a 7 certificate of need has been issued authorizing applications for Medicaid 8 certification. The provisions of subsection (5) of this section notwithstanding, a 9 continuing care retirement community shall not change the level of care licensure 10 status of its beds without first obtaining a certificate of need. 11 (11) An ambulance service established under subsection (9) of this section shall not be 12 transferred to an entity that does not qualify under subsection (9) of this section 13 without first obtaining a substantive certificate of need. 14 (12) (a) The provisions of subsections (7), (8), and (9) of this section shall expire on 15 July 1, 2026. 16 (b) All actions taken by cities, counties, and hospitals, exemptions from obtaining 17 a certificate of need, and any certificate of need granted under subsections (7), 18 (8), and (9) of this section prior to July 1, 2026, shall remain in effect on and 19 after July 1, 2026. 20 Section 2. KRS 216B.095 is amended to read as follows: 21 (1) An applicant may waive the procedures for formal review of an application for a 22 certificate of need and request a nonsubstantive review as provided below. The 23 cabinet shall[may] grant or deny nonsubstantive review status within ten (10) days 24 of the date the application is deemed completed and shall give notice to all affected 25 persons of the decision to conduct a nonsubstantive review. 26 (2) Any affected person other than the applicant may request a hearing by filing a 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 9 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed request with the cabinet within ten (10) days of the notice to conduct a 1 nonsubstantive review. As applicable, hearings shall be conducted as provided in 2 KRS 216B.085. 3 (3) [Based solely upon the record established with regard to the matter, ]The cabinet 4 shall approve or deny an application that has been granted nonsubstantive review 5 within thirty-five (35) days of the date that nonsubstantive review status was 6 granted[a certificate of need on all projects assigned nonsubstantive review status 7 within thirty-five (35) days of the determination of nonsubstantive review status. If 8 the application is denied nonsubstantive review status, it shall automatically be 9 placed in the formal review process]. 10 (4)[(2)] If a certificate of need is denied following a nonsubstantive review, the 11 applicant may request that the application be placed in the next cycle of the formal 12 review process. 13 (5) Nothing in this section[subsection] shall require an applicant to pursue a formal 14 review before obtaining judicial review pursuant to KRS 216B.115. 15 (6)[(3)] The cabinet shall[may] grant nonsubstantive review status to an application 16 for a certificate of need which is required: 17 (a) To change the location of a proposed health facility; 18 (b) To replace or relocate a licensed health facility if:[,] 19 1. a. [If ]There is no substantial change in health services or substantial 20 change in bed capacity; and 21 b. The replacement or relocation is within the same county; or 22 2. The replacement or relocation is for a psychiatric residential treatment 23 facility; 24 (c) To replace or repair worn equipment if the worn equipment has been used by 25 the applicant in a health facility for five (5) years or more; 26 (d) For cost escalations;[ or] 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 10 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed (e) To establish or expand a health facility or health service for which there is 1 not a component in the state health plan; 2 (f) To establish an ambulatory surgical center pursuant to the conditions 3 specified in subsection (10) of this section; 4 (g) To establish an ambulatory surgical center that: 5 1. Does not charge its patients and does not seek or accept: 6 a. Payment from any health insurance provider, including 7 Medicare and Medicaid; or 8 b. Financial support from the state or federal government; and 9 2. Utilizes the surgical facilities of an existing licensed ambulatory 10 surgical center during times the host ambulatory surgical center is not 11 in operation; 12 (h) To establish an industrial ambulance service; 13 (i) Prior to July 1, 2026, to establish an ambulance service in accordance with 14 subsection (9) of Section 1 of this Act; 15 (j) For a proposal made by a Level II psychiatric residential treatment facility; 16 (k) To establish an inpatient psychiatric unit in an existing licensed acute care 17 hospital under the following conditions: 18 1. The hospital is located in a county that has no existing, freestanding 19 psychiatric hospital; 20 2. The occupancy of acute care beds in the hospital is less than seventy 21 percent (70%) according to the most recent edition of the Kentucky 22 Annual Hospital Utilization and Services Report produced by the 23 Cabinet for Health and Family Services; 24 3. All of the proposed psychiatric beds are being converted from licensed 25 acute care beds; 26 4. No more than twenty percent (20%) of the hospital's acute care beds 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 11 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed up to a maximum of twenty-five (25) beds will be converted to 1 psychiatric beds; 2 5. All of the psychiatric beds will be implemented on-site at the 3 applicant's existing licensed facility; and 4 6. All of the psychiatric beds will be dedicated exclusively to the 5 treatment of adult patients aged eighteen (18) to sixty-four (64); 6 (l) For a proposal made by a Kentucky licensed acute care hospital, critical 7 access hospital, or nursing facility to expand a home health service to 8 provide services exclusively to patients discharged from its facility who 9 require home health services at the time of discharge and no existing 10 licensed home health agency is available and willing to accept the referral; 11 (m) 1. For a proposal by a PACE program for a program that: 12 a. Has met the requirements of the state readiness review according 13 to a report submitted by the Department for Medicaid Services to 14 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; 15 b. Seeks to provide a health service directly to its members that is 16 not exempt from certificate of need under Section 1 of this Act; 17 and 18 c. Ensures that all services authorized under the PACE agreement 19 are provided exclusively to its members who reside within a 20 service area: 21 i. Located within the Commonwealth of Kentucky; and 22 ii. Approved by both the Department for Medicaid Services 23 and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 24 2. As used in this paragraph, "PACE" has the same meaning as in KRS 25 216B.168; 26 (n) For a proposal to reestablish a licensed health care facility or service that 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 12 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed was provided at a hospital and was voluntarily discontinued by the applicant 1 under the following circumstances: 2 1. The termination or voluntary closure of the hospital: 3 a. Was not the result of an order or directive by the cabinet, 4 governmental agency, judicial body, or other regulatory 5 authority; 6 b. Did not occur during or after an investigation by the cabinet, 7 governmental agency, or other regulatory authority; 8 c. Occurred while the facility was in substantial compliance with 9 applicable administrative regulations and was otherwise eligible 10 for relicensure; and 11 d. Was not an express condition of any subsequent certificate of 12 need approval; 13 2. The application to reestablish the health care facility or service that 14 was voluntarily discontinued is filed no more than one (1) year from 15 the date the hospital last provided the service that the applicant is 16 seeking to reestablish; 17 3. A proposed health care facility shall be located within the same county 18 as the former health care facility and at a single location; and 19 4. The application shall not seek to reestablish any type of bed utilized in 20 the care and treatment of patients for more than twenty-three (23) 21 consecutive hours; 22 (o) For a proposal that involves transferring acute care beds from one (1) or 23 more existing Kentucky-licensed hospitals to establish a new hospital under 24 the following circumstances: 25 1. The existing and new hospitals shall be under common ownership and 26 located in the same county; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 13 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed 2. No more than fifty percent (50%) of the existing hospital's acute care 1 beds shall be transferred to the new facility; and 2 3. If the existing hospital: 3 a. Is a state university teaching hospital, the existing hospital 4 exceeded, by at least one (1), the minimum number of quality 5 measures required to receive supplemental university directed 6 payments from the state Medicaid program for the state fiscal 7 year preceding the date the application was filed; or 8 b. Is not a state university teaching hospital, the existing hospital's 9 overall star rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 10 Services Hospital Care Compare program was three (3) stars or 11 higher on the most recent annual update to the overall star 12 ratings preceding the date the application was filed; or 13 (p) In other circumstances the cabinet may prescribe by administrative 14 regulation[ may prescribe]. 15 (7)[(4)] If an application is granted nonsubstantive review status, unless rebutted by 16 clear and convincing evidence submitted by an affected party, there shall be a 17 presumption that the facility or service is: 18 (a) Needed; and 19 (b) Consistent with the state health plan[Notwithstanding any other provision to 20 the contrary in this chapter, the cabinet may approve a certificate of need for a 21 project required for the purposes set out in subsection (3)(a) to (e) of this 22 section, unless it finds the facility or service with respect to which the capital 23 expenditure is proposed to be made is not required; or to the extent the facility 24 or services contemplated by the proposed capital expenditure is addressed in 25 the state health plan, the cabinet finds that the capital expenditure is not 26 consistent with the state health plan]. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 14 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed (8)[(5)] The decision of the cabinet approving or denying a certificate of need 1 pursuant to this section shall be final for purposes of judicial appeal, unless the 2 applicant requests the application be placed in the formal review process. An 3 approved certificate shall be issued thirty (30) days after notice of the cabinet's 4 decision, unless a judicial appeal is taken and issuance is enjoined by the court. 5 (9)[(6)] Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the cabinet shall not grant 6 nonsubstantive review status to a certificate of need application that indicates an 7 intent to apply for Medicaid certification of nursing home beds within a continuing 8 care retirement community established under KRS 216B.015, 216B.020, 216B.330, 9 and 216B.332. 10 (10)[(7)] Notwithstanding any provision of state law or the state health plan 11 promulgated by administrative regulation in accordance with KRS 216B.040, the 12 cabinet shall grant nonsubstantive review for a certificate of need proposal to 13 establish an ambulatory surgical center if the applicant complies with the following: 14 (a) The applicant is an ambulatory surgical center that was organized and in 15 operation as the private office of a physician or physician group prior to 16 October 1, 2006; 17 (b) 1. The cabinet's general counsel has submitted a letter to the Accreditation 18 Association for Ambulatory Health Care advising that the cabinet does 19 not object to the applicant's parent company applying for and obtaining 20 Medicare certification; or 21 2. The applicant is an ambulatory surgical center that has received from the 22 cabinet a favorable advisory opinion dated June 14, 2005, confirming 23 that the applicant would be exempt from the certificate of need or 24 licensure requirement; 25 (c) The applicant's ambulatory surgical center has been inspected and accredited 26 by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care since December 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 15 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed 31, 2006, and has maintained accreditation with that organization consistently 1 since that time; and 2 (d) The applicant was a party to litigation concerning the ambulatory surgical 3 center and physician office issue and, prior to July 12, 2012, obtained a Court 4 of Appeals ruling in its favor. 5 Section 3. KRS 216B.062 is amended to read as follows: 6 (1) Applications for certificates of need shall be submitted according to timetables 7 established by the cabinet by promulgation of administrative regulation, pursuant to 8 the provisions of KRS Chapter 13A. The application for a certificate of need shall 9 include the name and business address of any owner, investor, or stockholder in the 10 project whose ownership interest is greater than ten percent (10%). Once an 11 application has been deemed complete pursuant to the cabinet's administrative 12 regulations, notice shall be given as provided by the regulations of the beginning of 13 the review, the proposed review schedule, and the right to request a hearing. The 14 review shall be deemed to commence on the date of notice. No review shall take 15 longer than ninety (90) days from the commencement of the review unless the 16 applicant agrees to a deferral of action. 17 (2) The cabinet shall not batch applications proposing the same or similar types of 18 services, facilities, or equipment[Applications proposing the same or similar types 19 of services, facilities, or equipment shall be batched for review purposes, excluding 20 those granted nonsubstantive review status. The cabinet shall by promulgation of 21 administrative regulation under KRS Chapter 13A establish appropriate batching 22 groups to assure that applications for each type of service, facility, or equipment 23 will be eligible for consideration at set intervals. In each review batch, the cabinet 24 shall review and, if appropriate, compare all timely-filed applications proposing 25 similar types of services, facilities, or equipment in the same health service areas]. 26 SECTION 4. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 216B IS CREATED TO 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 16 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed READ AS FOLLOWS: 1 (1) As used in this section: 2 (a) "Health care system" means a for-profit, nonprofit, or university-affiliated 3 organization that owns and manages an existing licensed hospital within an 4 urban health care market; 5 (b) "Pilot program" means the program established under this section; and 6 (c) "Urban health care market" means a county: 7 1. With a population exceeding one hundred thousand (100,000) based 8 upon the most recent United States Census Bureau Annual Estimates 9 of the Resident Population for Counties; and 10 2. That has one (1) or more licensed hospitals within the county that 11 exceeded thirty thousand (30,000) inpatient days in the prior year, 12 according to the most recent edition of the Kentucky Annual Hospital 13 Utilization and Services Report produced by the Cabinet for Health 14 and Family Services. 15 (2) (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that health care consumers will 16 benefit from increased access to quality health care services in the state's 17 urban health care markets through reforms to certificate of need. 18 Furthermore, policymakers may utilize knowledge gained from a pilot 19 program in the state’s urban health care markets to inform future initiatives 20 to increase access to health care services throughout the Commonwealth. 21 (b) The cabinet shall establish a pilot program in Kentucky’s urban health care 22 markets to modernize requirements for a certificate of need. 23 (c) The pilot program shall begin on January 1, 2026, and end on December 24 31, 2029, unless otherwise extended or limited by the General Assembly. 25 (3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, the 26 following provisions shall apply under the pilot program: 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 17 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed (a) In addition to exemptions in Section 1 of this Act, the following shall be 1 exempt from obtaining a certificate of need in an urban health care market: 2 1. Medical resonance imaging equipment; 3 2. Providers replacing worn equipment if the equipment has been used in 4 a health facility for three (3) years or more and it previously required 5 a certificate of need; 6 3. Ambulatory surgical centers solely dedicated to ophthalmological 7 services; 8 4. Megavoltage radiation therapy and PET equipment acquired by 9 existing licensed Kentucky hospitals with accredited cancer centers; 10 5. Personal care homes specializing in Alzheimer’s or dementia care; 11 6. Increases in the bed capacity of an existing licensed hospital up to ten 12 (10) beds or twenty percent (20%) of capacity, whichever is greater, in 13 any consecutive three (3) year period, in a hospital that has 14 maintained an overall occupancy of acute care beds in the facility at a 15 rate greater than eighty percent (80%) for the previous twelve (12) 16 month period; and 17 7. To change the location of a proposed health facility or to relocate a 18 licensed health facility if the change of location or relocation is within 19 the same county. 20 The facilities or services listed in this paragraph shall be subject to 21 licensure, when applicable; 22 (b) In addition to those facilities or services granted nonsubstantive review 23 status in Section 2 of this Act, the following shall be granted nonsubstantive 24 review status of an application for a certificate of need in an urban health 25 care market: 26 1. Establishing or expanding: 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 18 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed a. Private duty nursing services to be provided solely within an 1 urban health care market; 2 b. Home health services to be provided solely within an urban 3 health care market; 4 c. Adult day care centers; and 5 d. Facilities specializing in the treatment of chemical dependency 6 or substance abuse disorders; 7 2. Increases in the bed capacity of an existing licensed hospital up to fifty 8 percent (50%) of capacity if: 9 a. The additional beds are utilized to establish a new hospital under 10 common ownership and within the same county; 11 b. The existing hospital has maintained an overall occupancy of 12 acute care beds at a rate greater than eighty percent (80%) for 13 the previous twelve (12) month period; and 14 c. There are a minimum of two (2) health care systems within the 15 county where the new hospital will be located; and 16 3. Ambulatory surgical centers dedicated solely to pain management. 17 The facilities or services listed in this paragraph shall be subject to 18 licensure, when applicable; and 19 (c) 1. a. An applicant listed under paragraph (b) of this subsection and 20 any affected person may submit written testimony, research, or 21 other materials for consideration to the cabinet within ten (10) 22 days of the notice to conduct a nonsubstantive review. 23 b. Upon request from the applicant, the cabinet shall provide the 24 applicant with a copy of any written testimony, research, or other 25 materials submitted to the cabinet by an affected person. The 26 applicant may provide a response to the cabinet within five (5) 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 309 Page 19 of 19 XXXX 2/11/2025 11:05 AM Jacketed days of receiving them from the cabinet. 1 c. Only the applicant may request a hearing that shall be conducted 2 as provided in KRS 216B.085. 3 2. If a certificate of need is denied following a nonsubstantive review, the 4 applicant may: 5 a. Request that the application be placed in the next cycle of the 6 formal review process; 7 b. Request that the cabinet reconsider its decision pursuant to KRS 8 216B.090; or 9 c. Seek judicial review pursuant to KRS 216B.115. 10 3. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, only the applicant may 11 request an application to be placed in the formal review process, 12 request the cabinet to reconsider its decision, or seek judicial review. 13 (4) Upon the end of the pilot program, all facilities or services established in an 14 urban health care market under the pilot program shall retain: 15 (a) Any certificate of need granted during the pilot program; and 16 (b) Approval of all related investments approved during the pilot program. 17 (5) The cabinet shall submit a report on the progress of the pilot program by 18 November 1 year each of the pilot program to the Legislative Research 19 Commission for referral to the Interim Joint Committee on Health Services. 20 (6) The cabinet may promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS 21 Chapter 13A to implement this section. 22