Good Hope Hospital's appeal has been denied by North Carolina's appellate court. It was a split decision, so the case will go to the state supreme court automatically, but the hospital is just running out of time.

You see, Good Hope Hospital, 3 years ago, decided they wanted to make some changes. The hospital was a little run down with some old equipment -- the building is 93 years old. So they wanted to renovate and build a larger building.

The state said No. The state decided that they didn't want the hospital to update their equipment because the hospital "hadn't shown need."

In 2004, a law judge (whose decision is not binding on the state) ruled in favor of the hospital. The state ignored him and ruled against the hospital. They appealed to the appeals court that just denied them.

Oh, and at the same time, the federal government has warned the hospital that if they do not upgrade and update their equipment, they will not be able to provide any services for Medicare or Medicaid patients -- and if the supreme court does not hear the case very soon, the hospital will go bankrupt -- which is apparently the goal of the state.

So yes, the federal government says that the hospital's facilities are outdated -- so outdated as to be unsafe. But the state says the hospital hasn't shown proper "need" to renovate and expand.

What a crock. This is just another example of the total pile of crap that appears when government gets involved in something. The state shouldn't have ANY say in who renovates their own property. The feds shouldn't be paying billions for health care. It's all wrong.

Anyone know where I can find a free country?

Posted by: Ogre at 12:03 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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