Hospital Swing Beds — Behavioral Health Use & Certificate of Need

Current understanding

Michigan’s certificate-of-need framework governs how hospitals may use ‘swing beds’ — beds that can be reclassified between acute-care and other uses. HB5903 would expand permissible swing-bed use to include behavioral health patients, potentially increasing inpatient psychiatric capacity within existing hospitals without new CON approvals. The bill has been introduced.

Evidence log

• 2026-05-14 — Human services: adult foster care; definition of covered facility; exclude hospitals that provide swing bed services. Amends sec. 134a of 1974 PA 258 (MCL 330.1134a). TIE BAR WITH: SB 0969’26: cross-connection with swing-bed-hospital-covered-facility: SB 0970’s exclusion of swing-bed hospitals from the adult foster care ‘covered facility’ definition parallels ongoing questions about whether and how swing beds interact with behavioral health placements and certificate-of-need. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-05-14 — Health facilities: other; definition of covered facility; include hospitals that provide swing bed services. Amends secs. 20173a & 20173b of 1978 PA 368 (MCL 333.20173a & 333.20173b).: cross-connection with swing-bed-hospital-covered-facility: Both bills concern the regulatory treatment of hospital swing-bed services in Michigan — one expanding criminal-history-check coverage, the other addressing behavioral health use and certificate of need. (novelty: 2)

Open questions

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