Hospital leaders in Iowa are concerned that a proposed easing of the state’s certificate-of-need process would pave the way for for-profit outpatient businesses, including radiology centers, to set up shop and cherry-pick the most lucrative services to provide.
A number of the execs made their voices heard over the matter Wednesday, filing into the State House to make their case against the bill. They were countered by lobbyists explaining the other side of the argument.
The Des Moines Register reports that things got testy at times, with defenders of the proposed easing questioning the hospitals’ motives—and vice versa.
Rep. Rob Taylor, a Republican who sponsored the bill, “noted that some critics of the certificate of need process, including [Republican] Gov. Terry Branstad, have questioned whether the process has mainly become a way for hospitals to fend off competition,” the newspaper reports.
To this a lobbyist representing physician-owned clinics added that the current system favors hospitals. “Doctor-owned clinics just want to be able to compete fairly with the hospitals,” she said.
According to the Register, hospital leaders responded by pointing out that doctor-owned clinics are already “allowed to buy expensive equipment, such as MRI scanners, if they can show a need in their communities.”
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Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.