AN ACT relating to certificate of need.

Amend KRS 216B.020, relating to certificates of need, to reformat the list of facilities and services exempt from certificate of need provisions; amend KRS 216B.095 to require rather than permit the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to grant a nonsubstantive review to listed health facilities and services; add a presumption of need and state health plan consistency to health facilities and services granted a nonsubstantive review; amend KRS 216B.062 to prohibit the cabinet from batching applications for certificate of need applications that propose the same or similar types of services, facilities, or equipment; create a new section of KRS Chapter 216B to require the cabinet to establish a four-year pilot program for urban health care markets with modified certificate of need exemptions and nonsubstantive review requirements beginning January 1, 2026; define "health care system," "pilot program," and "urban health care market"; list health facilities and services exempt from certificate of need for purposes of the pilot program; list nonsubstantive review requirements and conditions for the pilot program; require that a certificate of need and all related investments be retained after the completion of the pilot program; require a report to the Legislative Research Commission on the pilot program by November 1 each year; permit the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations to implement the pilot program.