RD71 - Annual Report on the Status of Virginia’s Medical Care Facilities Certificate of Public Need Program


Executive Summary:
This annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia on the status of Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need (COPN) program has been developed pursuant to § 32.1-102.12 of the Code of Virginia. The report is required to address the activities of the program in the previous fiscal year; review the appropriateness of continued regulation of specific project categories; and to discuss the issues of access to care by the indigent, quality of care within the context of the program, and health care market reform. A copy of the enabling Code section is reproduced at Appendix A. This report includes data for the most recent fiscal year (FY 2011).

Program activity for the period covered in this report includes the issuance of 53 decisions. The State Health Commissioner authorized 45 projects with a total expenditure of $732,334,862 and denied eight projects with proposed capital expenditures of $44,249,326. Appendix D summarizes the authorization decisions. Additional program activities are described in the “Summary of the State Health Commissioner’s Actions” beginning on page 1.

The following project categories are analyzed in this report: psychiatric services, substance abuse treatment services and miscellaneous capital expenditures. The section on project analysis addresses the history of COPN regulation for these project categories, the nature of the specific services, the current state of the service in the Commonwealth and two potential options for the future of each of the categories with a recommended action. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) recommends maintaining the current COPN review process for the review of psychiatric services, substance abuse treatment services and miscellaneous capital expenditures.

Applicants that have not demonstrated a historical commitment to charity care, consistent with other providers in their health service area, may have a “condition” to provide some level of indigent care placed upon any COPNs they are awarded. Compliance with the conditions to provide indigent care has improved considerably. Historically, many conditioned COPN holders have either not reported their compliance with conditions or have reported that they have been unable, for various reasons, to reach the required level of indigent care. Language for the “conditioning” of COPNs includes the second type of condition allowed in the Code, namely that the applicant facilitate access through the development and operation of primary health care services for special populations. Aggressive follow-up with non-reporting holders of conditioned COPNs has dramatically improved compliance.

During FY 2011 the application review process was completed as directed by the Code. There were no delays in receiving recommendations from regional health planning agencies that adversely affected timely decision-making.