The bill proposes the termination of the West Virginia Health Care Authority and its Certificate of Need (CON) program, effective January 1, 2026. It repeals multiple sections related to the authority's operations, including the cooperative agreement review process and the requirements for health care facilities to obtain a certificate of need. As a result, no health care facility will be required to secure a certificate of need to operate in the state. The bill also mandates that the Secretary of the Department of Health will propose the repeal of any rules established by the authority for legislative consideration during the 2026 session, and it outlines the transition of responsibilities from the authority to the Department of Health, including the transfer of records, assets, and personnel.

Additionally, the bill enhances the secretary's role in overseeing health data collection and management, replacing references to the authority with the secretary in several sections. It establishes minimum requirements for health program information systems and mandates a strategic data collection plan to be submitted to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability every two years. The bill also streamlines the review process for cooperative agreements among health care providers, exempting agreements approved before January 1, 2026, from state and federal antitrust laws, while allowing the secretary to evaluate potential disadvantages of proposed agreements. Overall, the legislation aims to reduce bureaucratic barriers and improve the efficiency of health care service approvals in West Virginia.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 9-5-19, 16-2D-1, 16-2D-2, 16-2D-4, 16-2D-5, 16-2D-16a, 16-29B-1, 16-29B-3, 16-29B-8, 16-29B-25, 16-29B-26, 16-29B-28, 33-15B-5, 51-11-4, 16-2D-3, 16-2D-6, 16-2D-7, 16-2D-8, 16-2D-9, 16-2D-10, 16-2D-11, 16-2D-12, 16-2D-13, 16-2D-14, 16-2D-15, 16-2D-16, 16-2D-17, 16-2D-18, 16-2D-19, 16-2D-20, 16-29A-20, 16-29B-2, 16-29B-5, 16-29B-5a, 16-29B-12, 16-29B-13, 16-29B-14, 16-29B-15, 16-29B-24, 16-29B-30, 16-29B-31, 16B-13-12, 16B-21-3, 49-2-124