A doctor who died 12 years ago is having an influence on healthcare debates all across the country.
Some 200 bills relating to certificate-of-need laws have been introduced in state legislatures this year. According to Kara Hinkley with the National Conference of State Legislatures, the trend is toward limiting CON by repealing pieces or including moratoriums on CON requirements.
Despite this opposition to the CON process, a new study concluded that certificate of need has done what it set out to do: Control healthcare costs.
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No one doubts Edward Hospital CEO Pam Davis' credentials as a tough customer.
In 2003, she wore an FBI wire while meeting with thugs affiliated with the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board so the feds could get dirt on corrupt officials seeking kickbacks from the state's “certificate of need” healthcare construction-approval process.
Former Bear Stearns & Co. Managing Director Nicholas Hurtgen pleaded guilty to a role in the scheme, and the trail of corruption led all the way up to then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. While Hurtgen eventually withdrew his plea and all charges against him were quietly dropped, Blagojevich is now serving a 14-year prison term after being convicted on 18 charges.
The Facilities Planning Board was dissolved and replaced with an entity hoped to be harder to buy off. And, for reporters, Davis became a go-to source when seeking a critical voice against the certificate-of-need process. She also went on to become an ABC person of the week and Naperville American Legion Post No. 43's Citizen of the Year.
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