House Health Care panel hears testimony on H.96 CON reform; advocates push $10 million threshold and birth-center exemption

Members of the House Committee on Health Care heard testimony Feb. 14 on H.96, a bill that would raise financial thresholds in Vermont's certificate-of-need (CON) law and affect which new or expanded health facilities must undergo CON review. Witnesses representing provider associations and birth-center advocates argued that the current CON regime limits competition, raises spending and blocks lower-cost options such as freestanding ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and birth centers.

Susan Ritzen, of Vermont Health First Independent Practice Association, told the committee she had reviewed 50 years of data and peer-reviewed studies and concluded CON laws act as “a barrier to entry” that can “drive up costs.” Ritzen cited a body of literature she summarized as 128 peer‑reviewed papers and roughly 433 individual tests; she said 78% of tests on access found CON associated with diminished availability of services and that 60% of spending‑per‑service tests associated CON with higher costs. She also said quality measures more often correlated with worse outcomes under CON programs.

Ritzen said H.96’s sponsors were seeking to increase multiple financial thresholds to $10,000,000 for construction, equipment purchase and operating budgets, and to raise the threshold for so‑called conceptual…