Committee debates narrowing Vermont certificate-of-need rules, thresholds and exemptions

Members of the Vermont Legislature Health Committee spent most of a meeting reviewing the state’s certificate-of-need (CON) law and a draft bill that would raise several monetary thresholds and add or clarify exclusions from CON review.

Legislative Council attorney Jen Cardby briefed the committee on the statute’s purpose and scope, citing Title 18, subchapter 5 on health facility planning. Cardby summarized the statute’s policy language and the types of projects that historically have triggered CON review, and she noted how the law directs the Green Mountain Care Board to administer the program and adopt rules.

The discussion focused on several linked topics: whether the statutory phrase “includes, but is not limited to” gives the board open-ended jurisdiction; proposed new monetary thresholds (committee members discussed $10 million, $5 million and $3 million thresholds for different categories); a potential exemption for projects procured through state contracts; and a list of existing statutory exclusions (for example, physician offices, designated community mental health agency projects with commissioner approval, opioid-use-disorder medication programs, and overdose prevention centers).

“I think the…