Florida Gov. Rick Scott called for eliminating key regulations about building healthcare facilities and opening trauma centers, according to an article on the WLRN website.
Scott wants to eliminate the certificate of need process for building hospitals, nursing homes and hospice facilities and also get rid of a limit on the number of trauma centers scattered across the state.
The governor, a former health-care executive, has taken a free-market approach in recent years to regulatory issues in the industry, the article said.
Some in the hospital industry have favored eliminating the process, saying such a move could help expand access to healthcare and create more competition. But others argue that eliminating certificates of need would lead to new hospitals being built only in affluent areas.
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