West Virginia lawmakers approve hospital expansion rule changes

West Virginia hospitals seeking to amended oregon adhd services would nary longer beryllium required successful immoderate circumstances to acquisition a reappraisal process, nether a bill that won last legislative support Thursday.

The House of Delegates voted 75-20 to walk the bill. It antecedently made it done the Senate.

Since 1977, astir West Virginia wellness attraction providers that privation to unfastened oregon grow facilities indispensable get a certificate of need, and beryllium the projected work is needed successful their community.

The process, overseen by the state Health Care Authority, is designed to discourage duplication of services and is meant to forestall overspending that would summation wellness attraction costs.

Some lawmakers reason the certificate process is expensive, creates much barriers to attraction and prevents needed competition, portion unfairly propping up incumbents’ revenues.

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Republican Del. Heather Tully of Nicholas County said she lives acold from hospitals successful Beckley, Charleston and Clarksburg and that a infirmary successful her hometown of Summersville is funny successful expanding crab attraction services.

"I consciousness that this measure is precise bully for agrarian areas," she said.

West Virginia lawmakers approved infirmary enlargement regularisation changes. This bills volition would nary longer necessitate hospitals to acquisition a reappraisal process to marque renovations. 

Democratic Del. Mike Pushkin of Kanawha County, a measure opponent, said helium was much acrophobic astir residents who could beryllium affected by the measure — alternatively than the doctors, facilities and others that it would help.

"Who volition it hurt? The radical who request the services that can’t spend it," Pushkin said. "I person existent concerns astir this measure and what it volition bash to the aboriginal of wellness attraction and the accessibility for wellness attraction successful our state."

Republican Gov. Jim Justice hasn’t said publically whether helium plans to motion the measure into law.

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Under the legislation, a certificate of request won’t beryllium required if a wellness attraction supplier spends little than $100 cardinal connected installation oregon aesculapian instrumentality acquisitions, expansions oregon improvements. That's up from the existent minimum of $5 million.

A doctor’s bureau owned by a infirmary located wrong 250 yards of the hospital’s main gathering would besides beryllium exempt from obtaining a certificate of request for definite procedures.

Other exemptions see birthing centers that are built oregon acquired, oregon a backstage signifier with astatine slightest 7 bureau locations that wants to get a magnetic resonance imaging machine, careless of cost.

While immoderate states person repealed certificate-of-need laws, West Virginia is among the 36 states and the District of Columbia inactive utilizing them.