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Committee backs bill ending COPA oversight, shifts review to attorney general
Summary
The House Health Committee advanced House Bill 2,278, a measure to end a regional Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) and move pricing oversight for the Ballad Health footprint to the attorney general; Representative Hill’s amendment to phase out certificate-of-need rules for that same footprint also passed.
House Health Committee members voted to advance House Bill 2,278 after sponsors described the measure as a regionally targeted step to remove a COPA and place oversight with the attorney general. Leader Faison, the bill sponsor, told the committee the change would “remove the COPPA, keep[] takes the regulation away from the oversight board and puts the regulation under the attorney general,” framing the move as a shift in who enforces pricing and market rules.
Representative Hill offered an amendment to dissolve Certificate of Need (CON) requirements for acute-care hospitals inside the COPA footprint concurrently with the COPA repeal; Hill said the amendment responds to repeated requests from the Upper East delegation to restore competition and avoid a timing mismatch between removing COPA oversight and allowing new providers. The amendment passed on a unanimous recorded vote and was folded into the bill. Asked whether phasing the CON change regionally would create administrative burdens, Hill and other supporters said the Health Facilities Commission can accommodate applications and that the amendment was narrowly limited to the COPA footprint.
Several members pressed sponsors on pricing safeguards. Representative Clemens asked why five-year pricing restrictions were retained; Leader Faison said the limits were intended to prevent price gouging where a single system lacks competition. Representative Lear (speaker 4) clarified that the intent is shifting oversight, not eliminating accountability: “I want you to understand there is that's not true. We are not removing oversight,” he said, adding that the attorney general’s office could provide robust enforcement.
The committee recorded a 19–0 vote on the amendment and later a 19–0 vote to advance the bill as amended. The bill now proceeds to the next committee steps recorded by the clerk.
