Certificate of Need Legislation Signed into Law

ATLANTA - Today, Chairman Butch Parrish (R-Swainsboro) and other legislators joined Governor Brian Kemp at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. as he signed House Bill 1339 into law. HB 1339 was sponsored by Chairman Parrish and co-sponsored by House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) and reforms Georgia's certificate of need (CON) laws.

"This bill signing marks a historic step in the House's ongoing efforts to expand healthcare access in Georgia," said Speaker Burns. "Chairman Parrish put in countless hours engaging with stakeholders and perfecting this legislation to ensure that this bill would pass in the state legislature and be signed into law by Governor Kemp, and I commend him for his tireless efforts to improve health outcomes for our citizens. Let me be very clear: this was a state-led effort through and through, and Georgians can rest assured that we will continue our work at the state-level to deliver real solutions that expand access to quality, affordable healthcare for all Georgians in every corner of this state."

Chairman Butch Parrish said, "With the Governor's signature of House Bill 1339, we are taking a huge step forward to expand access to quality, affordable healthcare in our state-particularly in our rural communities. We know that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to healthcare, but I firmly believe this legislation is a bold step in the right direction. I want to thank Speaker Burns for his leadership and the trust he placed in me to carry this legislation forward, my colleagues in the House for their support and the Governor for signing this bill into law. We will continue working with our friends in the Senate to improve healthcare outcomes across our state, and I look forward to building on this important work."

House Bill 1339 seeks to expand access to healthcare by reforming Georgia's CON laws. The legislation will ease certain restrictions related to the construction and expansion of hospitals in rural Georgia. HB 1339 will also shorten the time period for review of hospital applications and will expand the rural hospital tax credit program. Other provisions of the bill include expanding hospital bed capacities, extending the maximum distance for certain healthcare facilities to relocate without a CON, expanding rural hospital perinatal services, as well as exempting psychiatric or substance abuse inpatient programs for Medicaid and uninsured patients from CON requirements when an agreement is reached with a nearby hospital. Finally, HB 1339 will create the Comprehensive Health Coverage Commission that will advise the General Assembly, governor and Department of Community Health on the quality of and access to healthcare by low-income and uninsured populations, including reimbursement, funding, quality improvement and service delivery enhancement opportunities.

Representative Jon Burns represents the citizens of District 159, which includes Screven County and portions of Bulloch and Effingham counties. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2004 and is the 75th Speaker of the House.

Representative Butch Parrish represents the citizens of District 158, which includes Candler, Emanuel and Treutlen counties and portions of Bulloch County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1984 and currently serves as Chairman of the Rules Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations, Banks & Banking, Economic Development & Tourism, Health, Human Relations & Aging, Public Health, and Technology and Infrastructure Innovation committees.

###