In this issue: North Carolina’s Certificate of Need Statute Withstands Constitutional Challenge; And Speaking of Certificates of Need—2011 SMFP Shows Need for Additional Nursing Facility and Adult Care Home Beds; Health Care Reform Update: Federal Agencies Have Issued 18 Regulations Implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Top Agency Enforcement Areas for Employers to Watch in 2011; and Nicaragua Update – I’m Off Again to the “Home of the Ancients”.

Excerpt from North Carolina’s Certificate of Need Statute Withstands Constitutional Challenge:

Last month, the N.C. Supreme Court issued a decision that puts to rest a nearly two year dispute over whether North Carolina’s Certificate of Need (CON) Statute is constitutional. The CON Statute regulates the number, type and location of the vast majority of health services in North Carolina and precludes the issuance of a CON for any health service, facility or equipment that is not identified as needed in the annual State Medical Facilities Plan (SMFP), which is issued annually by the Governor with substantial input from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and the State Health Coordinating Council (SHCC).