Publication Date
4-2024
Document Type
Comment
Abstract
This Comment will describe the rise and fall of CON programs in America and will propose solutions to problems caused by Georgia’s current CON program. Part II will describe the history of healthcare regulation in America as it relates to CON programs. Part III will discusse Georgia’s adoption of a CON program and the State’s current CON statutory scheme. Part IV will summarize recent debate among Georgia legislators and will identify problems with Georgia’s CON program. Part V will compare Georgia’s CON program to those in other states. Part VI will then suggest steps that may provide some relief to communities impacted by the CON program. This Comment will attempt to evaluate Georgia’s CON program with a particular focus on its impact to Georgia’s rural communities, who struggle to obtain access to quality healthcare.
Georgia’s CON programs are causing more harm than good, and the CON program needs an overhaul to prevent further damage to the state as a whole, but especially to Georgia’s rural communities. Two proposed bills to reform Georgia’s CON programs failed in the General Assembly in 2023.16 Both of these bills carved out exceptions for rural communities, which would create great strides in improving the quality and access of healthcare in Georgia’s rural counties. While studies show that Georgia would benefit from a complete overhaul of the CON program, the General Assembly should, at the very least, create an exemption for rural communities. Such an exemption would allow healthcare facilities to move into rural communities, encouraging new and existing healthcare facilities to improve the quality of their services.
Recommended Citation
Sizemore, Tessa
(2024)
"“911: What’s Your Emergency?” Georgia’s Certificate of Need Requirements Inhibit Rural Access to Quality Healthcare,"
Mercer Law Review: Vol. 75:
No.
3, Article 10.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.mercer.edu/jour_mlr/vol75/iss3/10