Conning the Competition

Indiana requires CONs within two broad categories—beds outside hospitals and facilities. The program regulates only nursing homes. It also has the distinction of being the newest in the country. In fact, Indiana only began accepting applications on July 1, 2019. See Ind. Code § 16-29-7-13(a). Indiana is the only state in the nation to have only a single application cycle per year. The statute begins by listing exceptions and never explicitly lists the facilities for which CONs are required, leaving readers to infer that the defined facilities require CONs.

COVID-19 Response

On March 19, 2020, Governor Holcomb authorized the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Health to “waive requirements of the nursing home certificate of need statute” as necessary to respond to COVID-19. Exec. Order 20-05 at 3 (Mar. 19, 2020). As of May 15, 2020, however, Commissioner Box had not responded to the Executive Order or otherwise exercised her authority to waive CON requirements.

Application Process

In Indiana, the CON application process takes about nine months. See Ind. Code § 16-29-7-13(e). Applications can only be submitted once annually through July 31. Ind. Code § 16-29-7-13(b). The fee for a CON application is $5,000. Ind. Code §§ 16-29- 7-19(a); 4-22-2.36 Competitors cannot intervene directly in the application process but they may submit public comments. See Ind. Code § 16-29-7-13(d).