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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 6, 2019 04:03 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Anthony M. DeLuca and Rep. Dan Frankel |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Reinstating Certificate of Need |
| Hospitals, hospital equipment, and trained expert providers are important, and expensive, resources. We should be cautious with these valuable resources because if not carefully managed, they can drive up the cost of medical care. In fact, experts agree that communities that are over-bedded – ones that have too many hospital beds for the number of patients who need care – or where the medical care is consolidated and owned by one system, substantially increases the cost of care. Pennsylvania has both problems. More patients are getting care outside the hospital, while the number of licensed beds has gone up. To compound these issues, our independent hospitals are being purchased by large systems. This legislation will reinstate the Certificate of Need program, adding an element related to hospital consolidation. Before we create new costs for our community, we should ensure that these hospital acquisitions or growth will actually benefit our communities. |
Introduced as HB1204