Amend the bill by striking out all of section 3.
Amend the bill in section 4 in subsection 16 in the 3rd line (page 1, line 31 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "$1,200,000" and inserting the following: ' $1,200,000 $1,600,000'
Amend the bill in section 5 in paragraph C in the 2nd line (page 2, line 12 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "$1,200,000" and inserting the following: ' $1,200,000 $1,600,000'
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 6 to 8 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 6. 22 MRSA §329, sub-§2-A, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 440, §3, is amended to read:
B.
The following acquisitions of major medical equipment do not require a certificate of need:
(1) Major medical equipment being replaced by the owner , as long as the replacement cost is less than $2,000,000; and
(2) The use of major medical equipment on a temporary basis in the case of a natural disaster, major accident or major medical equipment failure.
Sec. 7. 22 MRSA §329, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2007, c. 681, §3, is further amended to read:
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 10 to 13.
Amend the bill in section 14 in subsection 6 by striking out all of the first paragraph (page 3, lines 24 to 28 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
Amend the bill by inserting after section 14 the following:
‘Sec. 15. 22 MRSA §336, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 18 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 18. 22 MRSA §343, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 664, §2, is amended to read:
The department shall prepare and publish at least annually a report on its activities conducted pursuant to this Act. The annual report must include information on all certificates of need granted and denied and on the assessment of penalties. With regard to all certificates granted on a conditional basis, the report must include a summary of information reported pursuant to section 332 and any accompanying statements by the commissioner or department staff submitted regarding the reports.
Sec. 19. 22 MRSA §350, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 664, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 20.
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 22.
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
summary
This amendment is the minority report of the committee. The amendment changes the bill by:
1. Retaining the current exemption from certificate of need for medical office buildings owned or subsidized by a hospital or a hospital’s parent company;
2. Bringing the threshold amounts up to the current levels, which brings the thresholds for major medical equipment and new technology to $1,600,000 and the threshold for capital expenditures to $3,100,000;
3. Retaining the exemption from the certificate of need requirements for the replacement of major medical equipment by the owner and instead applying a threshold of $2,000,000 for review;
4. Applying a simplified review process for major medical equipment that costs more than $2,000,000;
5. Including replacement equipment that is not major medical equipment in the list of capital equipment that does not require a certificate of need;
6. Removing provisions in the bill related to energy-efficient projects for nursing facilities;
7. Lowering the proposed increase in the penalty for violations from $50,000 to $10,000; and
8. Removing the provision for a combined application for applicants seeking both a certificate of need and a certificate of public advantage.