How to find New York Certificate of Need filings
Where the New York State Department of Health publishes Certificate of Need records, what each source contains, and how to get the documents that are not online.
Where does New York publish CON filings?
The Department of Health posts every application in its Certificate of Need dataset on health.data.ny.gov, which is updated daily and runs back to 1974. Its CON program page describes the review levels, and NYSE-CON is the public search of the application system. Applications that go to the Public Health and Health Planning Council appear on its meeting pages, which post agendas, transcripts and, through early 2022, the project exhibits.
What does each source tell you?
The dataset gives the project number, facility, operators, project description, review level, total project cost at submission, the received and decision dates, committee and Council actions, the project status and construction dates. The committee exhibit adds the Department's recommendation, the contingencies and conditions, the need and financial analysis and the Council action date. The transcript gives the recommendation as stated at the meeting and who spoke for the applicant.
Why is it hard to follow a request from start to finish?
The dataset is complete but carries no recommendation or conditions, and the Council documents cover only full review applications and establishments. Administrative and limited review applications are decided by the Department with no public staff document. From mid-2022 the meeting pages stopped posting the project exhibits. The decision date in the dataset is the Department's action date, usually a few weeks after the Council meeting. Since August 2018 an application can have several sites, but the dataset holds one.
How do I get records that are not online?
Ask the Records Access Officer under the Freedom of Information Law, through the Department's FOIL page or by email to foil@health.ny.gov. Name the project numbers and the documents you want, such as the committee exhibit or Schedule 1 of the application. Questions about the CON program go to cons@health.ny.gov.
Is there other public data that helps?
CMS Provider of Services and enrollment files give each certified facility's CMS number, and the CMS owner files list its direct and indirect owners. Some hospitals post their own CON applications, with the Schedule 1 contacts, on their websites.
Where does COPN Atlas fit?
COPN Atlas turns the dataset into one row per project number and adds the Council record where it was read: 6,080 New York applications since January 2016. 4,994 were approved, 2 denied and 658 withdrawn, and 408 are pending. 809 rows carry the Department's recommendation, and 263 approvals carry a later withdrawal in Project status. See what is in the New York file.
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