Indiana lawmaker wants to bring back hospital 'certificate of need' process

A state lawmaker is concerned that hospital construction, especially near wealthy neighborhoods, is driving up the cost of healthcare. 

He wants to bring back the “certificate of need” review process, which Indiana repealed about two decades ago, according to an article on the Indianapolis Business Journal website.

“There is a body of evidence that the clustering of hospitals in a very small geographic area — sometimes called the high-net-worth rooftops or ZIP codes — is driving up health-care costs,” Indiana Sen. John Ruckelshaus, R-Indianapolis said in the article. “I personally don’t know that. But clearly, in this environment we’re in right now, this is a major issue.”

Ruckelshaus said he is drafting a version of the bill and plans to introduce it in the next week or two. The review process would apply only to new hospital projects, not to additions at existing hospitals or the purchase of expensive hospital equipment.

Read the article.