September 02, 2021

States Advance Certificate of Need and Telehealth Legislation

North Carolina’s state legislature passes a bill increasing the dollar threshold needed for a certificate of need review. California’s Senate Appropriations Committee advances a measure that would require carriers to disclose telehealth services to enrollees.

Certificate of Need
In North Carolina, Senate Bill 462 has passed the Senate and House of Representatives and awaits action by the governor. The bill would increase the dollar threshold that diagnostic center equipment, major medical equipment and capital expenditures for new institutional health services must exceed before they are subject to certificate of need review.
• For diagnostic centers, the aggregate dollar value of equipment with an individual value over $10,000 would increase from $500,000 to $1.5 million.
• For major medical equipment, the threshold would increase from $750,000 to $2 million.

The North Carolina chapter opposes the bill.

Telehealth
In California, Assembly Bill 457 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill requires carriers that offer telehealth to disclose the availability of receiving the services on an in-person basis or via telehealth from the enrollee’s healthcare provider, and to remind enrollees of cost sharing obligations for services from out-of-network providers.

The California chapter is monitoring the bill.

For more information, please contact Tina Getachew or Eugenia Brandt.

To stay current on state legislative developments relevant to radiology, view our policy map.