Assembly advances hospital legislation

TRENTON — The Assembly today advanced legislation Assemblyman Parker Space sponsors allowing health care facilities to develop inpatient beds for patients who require treatment for both substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. The bill is in response to the state’s opioid crisis.
“This bill is a common sense measure to remove bureaucratic red tape so that people with dual addiction and mental health disorders have immediate access to the inpatient treatment they need,” said Space. “With the opioid epidemic exploding all over the state, government needs to get out of the way and allow hospitals to expand treatment capacity without having to jump through hoops. This bill meets that challenge.”
Space’s bill eliminates the requirement that a health care facility obtain a certificate of need from the state to add inpatient treatment beds for patients with both a psychiatric and substance use disorder. Hospitals can add beds for substance abuse disorders without a certificate of need, but permission from the state Health Department is required for psychiatric or dual treatment beds.