{"id":759,"date":"2024-09-24T13:46:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T13:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=759"},"modified":"2024-09-24T13:46:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T13:46:02","slug":"states-efforts-to-alter-arcane-hospital-rules-mix-politics-with-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=759","title":{"rendered":"States\u2019 Efforts To Alter Arcane Hospital Rules Mix Politics With Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

Georgia is one of dozens of states<\/a> that require health-care facilities to ask for permission to build or expand by obtaining \u201ccertificates of need.\u201d Basically, state regulators get to decide whether a town needs a new hospital or long-term care center. If the need is deemed real, they\u2019re granted a \u201cCON.\u201d<\/p>\n

The intent of the decades-old system is to reduce duplicating medical services in an area, which, supporters argue, drives up health-care spending and reduces quality \u2014 an idea generally supported by the hospital industry, especially nonprofits.<\/p>\n

But some researchers are skeptical.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe evidence is pretty darn overwhelming that CON laws don\u2019t achieve the initially stated goals of increasing access, lowering costs and improving quality,\u201d said Matthew Mitchell<\/strong>, a senior research fellow at West Virginia University<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Some researchers argue the rules, which allow health-care organizations to file petitions to block competitors\u2019 projects, are weaponized by powerful health-care interests to assert market dominance. That\u2019s led a swath of states to roll them back in recent years.<\/p>\n

In Georgia, lawmakers felt the need to put special exemptions<\/a> in a certificate of need reform bill earlier this year to make sure the rules weren\u2019t impediments to efforts to revive two recently closed hospitals.<\/p>\n

The first exemption involves a shuttered hospital in rural Cuthbert, Ga. The carve-out could help an effort to reopen the facility as a \u201crural emergency hospital,\u201d which means it would receive more federal money but offer only emergency and outpatient care.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s much needed. People are hoping and praying we get it back,\u201d said Brenda Clark<\/strong>, a local resident.<\/p>\n

The second exemption concerns filling the gap left by the recently closed Atlanta Medical Center<\/strong>, one of the city\u2019s two Level 1 trauma centers. That carve-out clears the way for a potential new hospital that would partner with Morehouse School of Medicine<\/strong>, one of the country\u2019s few historically Black medical schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got a community that is struggling to find care in the wake of the Atlanta Medical Center closure,\u201d said Josh Berlin,<\/strong> CEO of rule of three, an Atlanta-based health-care consulting firm.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the state, an effort to build a hospital in another rural county<\/a> showed just how intense debates over CON rules can get, especially when politicians, the health-care industry and communities have conflicting priorities.<\/p>\n

This drama involves the state\u2019s powerful lieutenant governor and his wealthy father, who wants to build a hospital in their home county, which both feel is needed.<\/p>\n

It calls to mind discussions over certificates of need in recent years in other Southern states, such as Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida<\/a>, where hospital regulations were eased as lawmakers looked to stoke competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis kind of a regulation is often there because powerful businesses want them,\u201d Mitchell said, \u201cnot because they protect consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article is not available for syndication due to republishing restrictions. If you have questions about the availability of this or other content for republication, please contact NewsWeb@kff.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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This story can be republished for free (details<\/a>).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Georgia is one of dozens of states that require health-care facilities to ask for permission to build or expand by obtaining \u201ccertificates of need.\u201d Basically, state regulators get to decide whether a town needs a new hospital or long-term care center. If the need is deemed real, they\u2019re granted a \u201cCON.\u201d The intent of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}