Bill > LD1890

This bill modifies the existing law regarding certificates of need (CON) for ambulatory surgical facilities in Maine. Specifically, the bill creates a new exemption from the CON requirement for certain ambulatory surgical facilities. A hospital-owned ambulatory surgical facility can be exempt from obtaining a certificate of need only if two strict conditions are met: first, the facility must be operated and billed exclusively as an ambulatory surgical facility, and second, the facility cannot share physical space with a hospital or a critical access hospital's outpatient surgery department, even if the spaces are used at different times (defined as "temporally separated"). The bill repeals a previous subsection of the law and adds this new provision to create more flexibility for healthcare facilities to develop surgical centers while maintaining certain regulatory safeguards. A certificate of need is a regulatory requirement that healthcare providers must obtain before making significant capital expenditures or offering new healthcare services, intended to prevent unnecessary duplication of medical services and control healthcare costs.

Health and Social Services

https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?LD=1890&snum=132