Officials from the Minnesota Department of Health are attempting to stop St. Paul, Minn.-based Regions Hospital's proposed 100-bed expansion, arguing it is not financially viable, reports Bring Me The News.
Here are five things to know.
1. Minnesota has a moratorium that restricts hospital construction projects in the state. As a result, hospitals must obtain an exception from the Minnesota Legislature.
2. Regions Hospital applied for an exception from lawmakers. In the application, Regions Hospital argues it needs extra capacity to meet patient demands, especially as the population ages, chronic illness rates rise and patient volume increases as it draws more patients from outside its primary service area.
3. However, health department officials disagree with the hospital. During a meeting with House committee members, the health department said the expansion was unnecessary as there is already a surplus of beds in the St. Paul market.
4. Further, Health Policy Division Director Diane Rydrych said the hospital overestimated the number of beds it will need in the future, adding that the expansion "would add considerable resources to the healthcare system, likely in the range of several billion dollars to create and operate additional excess capacity in the market."
5. Lawmakers still need to vote on Region Hospital's proposal. If the expansion is approved, the expansion would be the 28th exception to the moratorium on new hospital beds in Minnesota, according to Bring Me The News.