The bill establishes a 16-member task force to study and make recommendations on certificates of need (CONs) (see Background). The task force must study and make recommendations on the following matters:

1. instituting a price increase cap tied to the cost growth benchmark for consolidations;
2. guaranteed local community representation on hospital boards;
3. changes to the Office of Health Strategy’s (OHS) long-term, statewide health plan to include an analysis of services and facilities and their impact on equity and underserved populations;
4. setting standards to measure quality due to a consolidation;
5. enacting higher penalties for noncompliance and increasing the staff needed for enforcement;
6. the attorney general’s authority to stop activities as the result of a CON application or complaint;
7. the ability of workforce and community representatives to intervene or appeal decisions;
8. authorizing OHS to require an ongoing investment to address community needs;
9. capturing lost property taxes from hospitals that have converted to nonprofit entities; and
10. the timeliness of decisions or approvals relating to the CON process and relief available through that process.