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Senate committee advances bill to ease Georgia Certificate-of-Need rules after patient and policy testimony
Summary
A Georgia Senate committee voted to advance Senate Bill 367 after testimony from a pancreatic cancer patient who said faster access to care saved his life and a health policy executive who urged rolling back Certificate of Need (CON) restrictions to expand outpatient capacity and private investment.
A Georgia Senate committee voted to advance Senate Bill 367 after public testimony that framed the measure as a way to speed access to care and encourage health-care investment.
Ronnie, a public commenter who said he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer nine and a half years ago, told the committee that "the speed of the service and the access to the service that I receive are the reason I'm still here." He said he was "100%" in favor of a bill that keeps access easier for cancer patients.
Amy McGuire, who identified herself as an executive director of a think tank with 25 years in health care administration, told the committee she supports rolling back some Certificate of Need (CON) regulations. "Deregulation of CON has generated more hospital construction, ambulatory care construction and private capital investment," McGuire said, arguing those changes expanded outpatient surgical capacity and improved access in growing and some rural areas. She cited Florida’s experience after changes in 2019 as a model, saying deregulation there led to more outpatient capacity and partnership arrangements among rural providers.
Chairman Kautzer asked McGuire whether deregulation in Florida had led to rural hospital closures; McGuire said she recalled more collaboration and rural hospitals partnering to expand access, and offered to provide detailed data to the committee.
A committee member moved that the bill "do pass;" the motion was seconded (the transcript names Senator Albers as the second). The committee conducted a voice vote; the chair reported "2 opposed" and "versus 4," and declared the motion passed. The transcript does not provide full roll-call names for all votes or a formal tally beyond the chair's report.
Committee leadership closed the hearing with reminders about a committee dinner on March 9 and a planned meeting Monday at noon.
The bill will move forward in the legislative process; the committee did not record additional amendments on the transcript.
