This timely bill would give states the certainty they need to remove Certificate of Need (CON) laws during the Coronavirus pandemic so healthcare providers can better address their COVID-19 caseloads.
February 9, 2021
The Honorable Dan Bishop
9th Congressional District of North Carolina
132 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Bishop,
On behalf of our more than 2.3 million members, including over 4,200 who reside in NC-09, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) is writing in support of the Increasing Hospital Capacity to Fight the Coronavirus Act of 2021.
This is very responsive legislation to address the state and local “Certificate of Need” (“CON”) administrative requirements that, unfortunately in this time, have served to impede timely and critically needed capital expenditures for health care facilities needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic patient caseload.
Certainly, during this time, it is key and indeed reasonable to provide for a waiver of any Medicare and Medicaid payment reductions that would otherwise be triggered in the absence of the issuance of any state or local CON for capital expenditures. Hopefully, the States will also in like manner follow this bill’s lead in waiving their CON requirements for health care capital expenditures for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We commend you for putting forth this important legislation and are pleased to offer our organization’s full support for the Increasing Hospital Capacity to Fight the Coronavirus Act of 2021.
Sincerely,
Bob Carlstrom
President, AMAC Action
