oh, it's really cool bullshit, really. you can file a CON for your healthcare facility and then surrounding healthcare facilities that failed to provide proper service to the community can challenge the CON and get it denied!

local hospital system tried building a whole new freestanding healthcare center including outpatient surgery and the failing hospital 30 miles down the road filed a CON objection and killed the whole project so it had to be half-ass converted into "just a bunch of doctors offices". at least they committed to paying property taxes on the land they bought even though they're a nonprofit that was exempt on it!

two years later, the local hospital system acquired the hospital that filed the objection. embarassing, really.