The North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation (DHSR) has published proposed amendments and repeals to CON rules on its website. The proposed changes are the result of the agency’s rule review, in accordance with Executive Order 70.
CON regulation for air ambulance has been unenforceable in North Carolina since a 2008 court decision that ruled CON regulation of air ambulance was preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act. The proposed rule changes repeal CON for Air Ambulance, as the relevant rules have been obsolete since the 2008 ruling. Similarly, DHSR has proposed repeal of the CON rules for Health Maintenance Organizations, as the authority to enforce the rules was repealed in 2005 under Session Law 2005-325 S. 2.
The proposed changes to Rule sections .1701-.1705 are the most substantive, and respond to a petition “to address the performance standards for heart-lung bypass machines when they are not operated specifically to provide open-heart surgery.”
A public hearing on the proposed changes will be held October 31, 2012 at the DHSR’s Wright Building in Charlotte.
Comments on North Carolina SMFP Available
Written comments on North Carolina’s Proposed 2013 State Medical Facilities Plan (SMFP) that were submitted by August 1st are now available to view online. The North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation received over 15 petitions with proposed adjustments to the SMFP as well as several sets of comments.
Both Cape Fear Valley Health System and Vidant Medical center petitioned for a reduction in the number of acute care beds published in the SMFP. There were also several petitions for additional nursing home beds, inpatient hospice beds and cardiac catheterization services.
All comments and petitions related to the materials submitted on August 1st must be submitted to the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation by August 17, 2012.