Iowa's State Health Facilities Council Approves Over $6 Million of New Projects

The State Health Facilities Council (the “Council”) met on February 21, 2018, and granted a certificate of need (“CON”) to each of the following projects by a vote of 4-0:

• The purchase of a 3.0 Tesla MRI by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics at a cost of $2,681,912.
• The purchase of a PET/CT system by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics at a cost of $3,415,068.
• The addition of four intermediate care facility for the intellectually disabled (ICF/ID) beds by Imagine the Possibilities—Diamond Place in Oskaloosa.

The Council approved four extension requests for projects that previously received CONs.  The Council also discussed amending its rules to update its long-term-care bed need formula.  BrownWinick will continue to monitor developments related to the bed need formula and will provide additional updates. 

The Governor has not yet nominated a fifth Council member to replace Roger Thomas, who resigned from the Council at the end of 2017. 

The Council’s next meeting is scheduled for May 16-17, 2018.  In order for an applicant to have its CON Application heard at that meeting, the Application must be filed by Wednesday, March 21, 2018.