Georgia certificate of need
Georgia has a certificate of need program, run by Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), Office of Health Planning. It covers 11 kinds of services, listed below.
- CON program
- Yes
- Services covered
- 11
On this page
Georgia CON program
Georgia has a certificate of need program, run by Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), Office of Health Planning. It covers 11 kinds of services, listed below.
- CON program
- Yes
- Program
- Certificate of Need
- Review timeline
- Letter of intent is due at least 25 days before the application (shortened from 30 days by HB 1339, 2024). Similar applications in the same service area that are complete by day 25 of the first application's review cycle are reviewed jointly. The statutory review period was not verified.
- Recent changes
- HB 1339 (signed April 19, 2024; exemption requests accepted from July 1, 2024) removed the capital expenditure thresholds for construction and remodeling projects. It also added exemptions for: hospital bed expansions of up to 10 beds or 20% in three years when occupancy tops 60%; relocations within 5 miles (was 3); psychiatric / substance abuse beds for Medicaid and uninsured patients under an agreement with a nearby hospital; rural perinatal services and birthing centers; certain new rural acute care facilities; and same-system transfers within 15 miles. It raised late-report penalties and directed DCH and Legislative Counsel to recommend a rewrite of the CON chapter by December 1, 2024.
- Statute
- O.C.G.A. Title 31, Chapter 6 (§31-6-40 et seq.); Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 111-2-2
Services that need a certificate of need
- hospitals (including destination cancer hospitals)
- special care units
- skilled nursing facilities
- intermediate care facilities
- personal care homes of 25 or more beds
- ambulatory surgical or obstetrical facilities
- freestanding emergency departments off a hospital's primary campus
- home health agencies
- health maintenance organizations
- certain diagnostic, treatment or rehabilitation centers
- bed capacity increases and new clinical services
Frequently asked questions
Does Georgia have a certificate of need law?
Georgia has a certificate of need program, run by Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), Office of Health Planning. It covers 11 kinds of services, listed below.
How long does a Georgia CON review take?
Letter of intent is due at least 25 days before the application (shortened from 30 days by HB 1339, 2024). Similar applications in the same service area that are complete by day 25 of the first application's review cycle are reviewed jointly. The statutory review period was not verified.