Here are three takeaways from the report:
1. North Carolina advanced plans to repeal CON requirements for ASCs in counties with populations over 125,000 people, effective Nov. 21, 2025. Affected ASCs must meet specific charity care obligations and submit annual data reports to maintain compliance.
2. Tennessee will repeal its CON laws by Dec. 1, 2027. Once the repeal takes place, independent ASCs will be required to participate in TennCare and provide comparable levels of care to TennCare enrollees and charity care patients, similar to hospital-affiliated ASCs. The Tennessee Health Facilities Commission is also tasked with developing a six-year assessment plan to monitor the impacts of these changes.
3. Georgia also proposed CON reforms that exempt some single-specialty ASCs from CON requirements if they are owned by a single physician or practice and stay below specific capital expenditure and operating room thresholds. The reforms permit non-owner physicians within the same specialty to operate these ASCs and permit joint ventures with hospitals, including the use of external management. The Georgia Department of Community Health is also expected to dole out more recommendations, which could lead to future policy changes.
