The Florida House and Senate sent legislation to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) that would end the state’s certificate of need (CON) review for general hospital construction, effective July 1. Then in July 2021, CON reviews would end for new specialty hospitals serving children, women, psychiatric patients, etc.

The existing law--which has been intact for nearly 50 years and is common in most states--requires hospital, nursing home and hospice owners/providers to gain approval from the state before building new facilities or expanding certain medical services. The process can be lengthy, so deregulation would lead to speedier development of health care projects in Florida.