Syfert Injury Law Firm

Your Trusted Partner in Personal Injury & Workers' Compensation

Call Now: 904-383-7448

2018 Georgia Code 31-6-1 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 31-6-1 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 31-6-1

TITLE 31 HEALTH

Section 6. State Health Planning and Development, 31-6-1 through 31-6-95.

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

31-6-1. Declaration of policy.

The policy of this state and the purposes of this chapter are to ensure access to quality health care services and to ensure that health care services and facilities are developed in an orderly and economical manner and are made available to all citizens and that only those health care services found to be in the public interest shall be provided in this state. To achieve such public policy and purposes, it is essential that appropriate health planning activities be undertaken and implemented and that a system of mandatory review of new institutional health services be provided. Health care services and facilities should be provided in a manner that avoids unnecessary duplication of services, that is cost effective, that provides quality health care services, and that is compatible with the health care needs of the various areas and populations of the state.

(Code 1981, §31-6-1, enacted by Ga. L. 1983, p. 1566, § 1; Ga. L. 2008, p. 12, § 1-1/SB 433.)

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2008, the second occurrence of "and" was deleted preceding "purposes, it is essential" in the second sentence.

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2008, p. 12, § 3-1/SB 433, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to this Code section shall only apply to applications submitted on or after July 1, 2008.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Constitutionality.

- By its plain terms, O.C.G.A. § 31-6-40(a)(7)(C) does not authorize monopolistic contracts relating to providers of new institutional health services and only requires that all such providers obtain a Certificate of Need (CON) before adding new services; thus, it did not implicate the Anti-Competitive Contracts Clause in any way as the requirement did not authorize contracts between service providers or anyone else that would encourage a monopoly. Women's Surgical Ctr., LLC v. Berry, 302 Ga. 349, 806 S.E.2d 606 (2017).

Statute serves legitimate legislative purpose.

- Georgia Supreme Court held the availability of quality health care services was certainly a legitimate legislative purpose and that the government objectives with respect to Georgia's certificate of need laws were indeed legitimate. Women's Surgical Ctr., LLC v. Berry, 302 Ga. 349, 806 S.E.2d 606 (2017).

Certificate of need.

- Reversal of the agency and denial of a Certificate of Need (CON) was affirmed because the atypical barrier exception did not support the agency's grant of the CON as the agency's interpretation of the atypical barrier exception in the rule was inconsistent with the plain language of the rule, clearly erroneous, and prejudiced the substantial rights of the challenging hospitals who already provided the same services. ASMC, LLC v. Northside Hosp., Inc., 344 Ga. App. 576, 810 S.E.2d 663 (2018).

Cited in St. Joseph's Hosp. v. Hospital Corp. of Am., 795 F.2d 948 (11th Cir. 1986); HCA Health Servs., Inc. v. Roach, 263 Ga. 798, 439 S.E.2d 494 (1994); Ga. Dep't of Cmty. Health, Div. of Health Planning v. Gwinnett Hosp. Sys., 262 Ga. App. 879, 586 S.E.2d 762 (2003); Tanner Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Vest Newnan, LLC, 337 Ga. App. 884, 789 S.E.2d 258 (2016).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 39A C.J.S., Health and Environment, § 9.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 31-6-1

Total Results: 5  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

Copy

Premier Health Care Investments, LLC v. Uhs of Anchor, L.P, 849 S.E.2d 441 (Ga. 2020).

Cited 36 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 5, 2020 | 310 Ga. 32

...ce or health care facility shall, before commencing such activity, . . . obtain a certificate of need in the manner provided in this chapter unless such activity is excluded from the scope of this chapter.” In addition, a CON issued under OCGA § 31-6-1 et seq....
...institutional health services and health care facilities,” including for psychiatric and substance-abuse inpatient programs, see id. at (b) (8), and that “[t]his broad delegation is consistent with the CON Statute’s enumerated purposes,” set forth in OCGA § 31-6-1. we need only identify “serious constitutional concerns raised by [a] broader construction” to reach the conclusion that a narrower statutory construction is required, see Haley, 289 Ga....
Copy

Women's Surgical Ctr., LLC v. Berry, 302 Ga. 349 (Ga. 2017).

Cited 17 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 16, 2017 | 806 S.E.2d 606

...Under this analysis, if the laws passed are seen to have a reasonable relation to a proper legislative purpose, and are neither arbitrary nor discriminatory, the requirements of due process are satisfied”) (citations and punctuation omitted). Pursuant to OCGA § 31-6-1, the purpose of the CON laws is to ensure access to quality health care services and to ensure that health care services and facilities are developed in an orderly and economical manner and are made available to all citizens and that only...
...sonable cost.” Colon Health Centers of America, LLC v. Hazel, 733 F3d 535, 548 (III) (B) (4th Cir. 2013); Madarang v. Bermudes, 889 F2d 251, 253 (II) (9th Cir. 1989). The government objectives with respect to Georgia’s CON laws as stated in OCGA § 31-6-1 are indeed legitimate. Furthermore, on the record before us, the Center has not shown that OCGA § 31-6-40 (a) (7) (C) does not bear a rational relationship to the legitimate government objectives outlined in OCGA § 31-6-1....
...potentially allows the Department to avoid the “unnecessary duplication of services,” which can in turn make health care more “cost effective” and “compatible with the . . . needs of the various areas and populations of the state.” OCGA §31-6-1....
...The Center has not shown under the record that the requirements of OCGA § 31-6-40 (a) (7) (C) are arbitrary or discriminatory, and the fact that the legislature could have potentially come up with a different statute with a theoretically more effective means of accomplishing the stated goals of OCGA § 31-6-1 is irrelevant....
...) (citation and punctuation omitted). OCGA § 31-6-40 (a) (7) (C) is the vehicle that was chosen, and the record before us does not show that this statute does not bear a rational relationship to the legitimate goals of government expressed in OCGA § 31-6-1.7 Accordingly, the Center’s due process challenges to OCGA § 31-6-40 (a) (7) (C) *356are without merit....
...Marbury Rainer; Heidari Power Law Group, Yasha Heidari, amici curiae. Judgments affirmed. Hines, C. J., Benham, Hunstein, Nahmias, Blackwell, Peterson, JJ., and Judge Charles J. Bethel concur. Boggs, J., concurs in judgment only as to Division 2 (b). Grant, J., disqualified. SeeOCGA §§ 31-6-1 through31-6-70; Ga....
Copy

HCA Health Servs., Inc. v. Roach, 439 S.E.2d 494 (Ga. 1994).

Cited 14 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 7, 1994 | 263 Ga. 798, 94 Fulton County D. Rep. 479

...HPA authority to exempt the facility from CON requirements if the facility is relocated. The Act and the CON program establish a comprehensive system of planning for the orderly development of adequate health care services throughout the state. OCGA § 31-6-1....
Copy

Diversified Health Mgmt. Servs., Inc. v. Visiting Nurses Ass'n of Cordele, Inc., 330 S.E.2d 885 (Ga. 1985).

Cited 11 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jun 27, 1985 | 254 Ga. 500

...d to exhaust their administrative remedies, and that the complaint fails to state a claim for relief. 1. The Certificate of Need Program is codified at OCGA § 31-6-40 et seq., as part of the State Health Planning and Development Act (the Act). OCGA § 31-6-1 et seq....
...thorized by law, has standing to bring an action to enforce the provisions of the Act. In so holding, we noted that the purpose of the Act is the development of adequate health care services and facilities "in an orderly and economical manner," OCGA § 31-6-1 (former Code Ann....
Copy

Kennestone Hosp., Inc. v. Emory Univ., 318 Ga. 169 (Ga. 2024).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 6, 2024

...in a man- ner that avoids unnecessary duplication of services, that is cost ef- fective, that provides quality health care services, and that is com- patible with the health care needs of the various areas and popula- tions of the state.” OCGA § 31-6-1. To that end, the CON Act requires “new institutional health service[s]” to obtain a CON....