Updated 11/24/20: The controversial Certificate of Need (CON) program in Michigan is in question through several new bills that passed the Michigan Senate in February 2020. It has yet to be decided in the House. The debate has been ongoing and seems to be getting more and more heated with those against it arguing for an open market approach to drive down cost and those for it are claiming that the medical industry needs to be regulated to keep a high standard of care at an affordable cost.
Furthermore, as we hear in the news more often, medical groups are having difficulty securing their CON in saturated Metro Areas of Michigan because a premise of the CON has been to drive medical care to regions where there is less medical access. A positive note is, due to regionalism and urban sprawl, there are new populated pockets where medical services are less saturated and CONs are still available.
As a Design-Builder that has been through the CON process several times with our medical group clients, we wanted to offer you some insider tips to getting through the application. First and foremost, it’s important to build your team of CON/Design/Construction experts before you even look for your property. Enlist your CON consultant and contractor to help you find an area that has CON capacity and also will accommodate your building/parking lot size. Additionally, you’re architect plays a big role during the application period as you’ll need to submit schematic drawings, project narrative, site development plan and design fees, in the CON submittal package. The contractor provides the estimated cost of the project, which is also required with the application. And, obviously, having a CON consultant on the team provides an expert when navigating around the requirements and bringing all the necessary documentation together with accuracy, so that there are no setbacks from missing or incorrect information during the application process. It could save you two weeks or more in your review time and provide insider know-all advantages.
When you work with Wolgast Corporation as your Design-Build expert, we already have an established team of architect, engineer, medical construction specialists and CON consultant that have been through the CON process together. We’ve helped doctor groups find suitable locations with available CON credits and also with renovations, additions and new builds to help them grow their surgery centers. Through our Design-Build construction service, we satisfy all necessary requirements to help you move through the application process as efficiently as possible.
Learn more about our Design-Build construction services below, or call Dr. Michael Shepard to discuss how we can help you expand, 800-WOLGAST.