Federal rural health money is pushing states to loosen laws that control where new hospitals and medical services can open. Tennessee lawmakers passed a bipartisan bill in April that phases out certificate of need rules for hospitals and several key services over the next few years, according to a KFF Health News investigation published October 22.
The pressure comes from the five-year, $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program created by last year's federal budget law. Half of the money is split equally among states. The other $25 billion depends partly on policy commitments, and federal officials told states that applications would score higher if they rolled back these laws.
