ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-seventh Legislature

First Regular Session

House: RO DP 3-2-0-0

HB 2197: certificate of necessity; repeal

Sponsor: Representative Willoughby, LD 13

Caucus & COW

Overview

Repeals the statutes that require a person operating an ambulance transport service to obtain a Certificate of Necessity (CON) to operate in Arizona.

History

The CON system was created to ensure that emergency transport services benefit the population and are adequately distributed throughout Arizona. The CON system regulates ground ambulance services and describes geographic service areas, including the level of services (advanced or basic life support), hours of operations, response times, effective/expiration dates and any special provisions for emergency medical services in the geographic area.

CON laws are state regulations for authorizing major capital expenditures and projects for certain health care facilities. In a state with a CON program, a health planning agency or other entity must approve the creation of a new health care facility or the expansion of an existing facility’s services. CON programs aim to control health care costs by restricting duplicative services and determining whether new capital expenditures meet a community's needs. Currently, 35 states and Washington, D.C., operate CON programs, with wide variation by state. Arizona, Minnesota and Wisconsin do not officially operate a CON program but have several approval processes that function similarly to CON programs. NCSL. Certificate of Need State Laws.

Arizona enacted a form of CON legislation for grand ambulance transport services in 1983 and last modified CON laws in 2022, which modified certain application and issuance procedures. The revisions became effective January 1, 2024.

Arizona only has CON requirements for ground ambulances. The state requires an application for ambulance services and ambulances to be filed with the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS), Bureau of Emergency Medical Services & Trauma System (Bureau). The Bureau is responsible for coordinating, establishing and administering a statewide system of emergency medical services, trauma care and a trauma registry.

Provisions

1. Repeals the statutes pertaining to the CON process, procedures and requirements for a person to operate an ambulance service in Arizona. (Sec. 1)

2. Instructs Legislative Council to prepare conforming legislation for next session. (Sec. 2)

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