Before Dosher Memorial Hospital in Southport, N.C. could renovate some of its older patient rooms, it had to complete paperwork, which cost the hospital more than $100,000.
But hospitals like Dosher and UNC might soon be able to bypass this tangle of red tape if a legislative committee decides to rewrite state certificate of need laws.
The committee will meet Thursday to begin discussions on how to streamline the process of approving hospital renovations and expansions.
Other hospitals have been impacted by high costs and lengthy time requirements set by the current process.
State law requires all hospitals wanting to replace or expand their facilities to apply for a certificate of need. The N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation reviews these applications and decides if these new services are needed.
Once the state has made a decision, other affected hospitals can go through an appeals process that could last years.
Rep. John Torbett, R-Gaston, said the application process is too costly and drawn-out — and hopes to make changes to eliminate some of the red tape.
Torbett, a chairman of the N.C. House committee examining the certificate of need process, said he and other legislators met this past fall with hospital officials across the state and heard their testimonies.
About 36 states had certificate of need laws as of Dec. 2009, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.