Healthcare providers and state lawmakers defended West Virginia’s certificate-of-need law Oct. 20 as Gov. Patrick Morrisey pushes for its repeal, WV News reported Oct. 21.
The discussion took place in Morgantown, W.Va., at the annual conference of the West Virginia Directors of Senior and Community Services. Panelists talked about how the law shapes competition, access to care and the finances of existing providers.
Kathy Cosco, vice president of government and external affairs at Marshall Health Network, supported keeping the law. She said expected cuts in Medicaid reimbursement and coverage losses could raise hospitals’ uncompensated care. Ms. Cosco also pointed to about 4,000 vacant hospital positions statewide. She said new entrants, including for-profit providers that can afford higher wages, would recruit from the same limited workforce.
Ms. Cosco said the state, “with its payer mix, is a poster child for why certificate-of-need is beneficial to our patients.”
Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, said the law prevents duplicate services that drive up healthcare costs, which taxpayers largely fund. Mr. Oliverio said he wants systems in the Morgantown and Fairmont areas strong enough to compete with Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Johns Hopkins.
Del. Geno Chiarelli, R-Monongalia, said repeal ranks well below authorization and credentialing among the concerns he hears from healthcare professionals.
Christy Mills, executive director of the Lewis County Senior Center, said a state change in its need methodology let more in-home care agencies into the county. She said that strained a small hiring pool. Ms. Mills added that a local hospital’s plan to build near the interstate has run into the law because the site is close to a hospital in a neighboring county.
Under the process, the West Virginia Health Care Authority reviews whether existing providers meet community needs before it approves new services.
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