With rising health care costs a major topic of discussion and concern among state officials, business leaders, and consumers, one would think state authorities would welcome hospitals that want to compete to provide medical services to Wake County residents.
Wrong.
And because of the state’s antiquated Certificate of Need law — known as CON — you and I are the losers, as the Locke Foundation’s Roy Cordato explains in this paper.
Competition for customers will increase quality, widen options, and lower costs. Novant Health knows this. Even though the Winston-Salem company has been denied the opportunity to build a hospital in Holly Springs, the company plans to fight this ridiculous, anti-consumer ruling.
The state instead gave the thumbs-up to two of Novant’s competitors. Why not give the OK to all three groups that see a need they want to fill? Even more to the point, why is the state involved in this at all?
