It’s Not The Federal Government’s Fault New York Doesn’t Have More Ventilators, It’s Andrew Cuomo’s

[mystery-ak]

 It’s Not The Federal Government’s Fault New York Doesn’t Have More Ventilators, It’s Andrew Cuomo’s

Once again, government intrusion into the health-care sector has proved disastrous.

By Shawn Fleetwood
March 30, 2020

While New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blames the president and the federal government for the lack of beds and ventilators in his state, the power to determine the number of these critical medical supplies in New York hospitals falls squarely upon the shoulders of the governor.

During a Tuesday press conference, Cuomo lashed out at the federal government for not sending enough ventilators as the Wuhan coronavirus continues to rattle the state. “Four hundred ventilators? I need 30,000 ventilators,” Cuomo said. “You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators?” The state is projecting it will need approximately 140,000 beds in 14 to 21 days, which is higher than its previous estimation of 110,000 beds by early to mid-May.

However, New York, along with 35 other states and the District of Columbia, have in place what are known as certificate-of-need (CON) laws. According to Reason, “Their stated purpose is to keep hospitals from overspending, and thus from having to charge higher prices to make up for unnecessary outlays of capital costs. But in practice, they mean hospitals must get a state agency’s permission before offering new services or installing a new medical technology. Depending on the state, everything from the number of hospital beds to the installation of a new MRI machine could be subject to CON review.”

Rules like these artificially lower available medical care. Rather than produce good results for patients, these overbearing regulations have instead inflated health-care costs and created a lack of competition among hospitals, leading to poor care. In addition, these protocols could lead to shortages of crucial medical equipment, such as ventilators and hospital beds, as demonstrated in New York.

more
https://thefederalist.com/2020/03/30/its-not-the-federal-governments-fault-new-york-doesnt-have-more-ventilators-its-andrew-cuomos/

[PeteS in CA]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this!

However, New York, along with 35 other states and the District of Columbia, have in place what are known as certificate-of-need (CON) laws. According to Reason, “Their stated purpose is to keep hospitals from overspending, and thus from having to charge higher prices to make up for unnecessary outlays of capital costs. But in practice, they mean hospitals must get a state agency’s permission before offering new services or installing a new medical technology. Depending on the state, everything from the number of hospital beds to the installation of a new MRI machine could be subject to CON review.”

I do not know when these laws were passed, but back in the 70s and 80s these laws limited the availability of diagnostic equipment such as ultrasound, CAT scanners, and MRI (and by limiting purchases probably kept equipment prices higher by preventing economies-of-scale price reduction).

Honest news coverage/commentary would include the regulocratic barriers that have limited preparedness and impeded response. And included national coverage to goobernatorial F-ups like Cuomo failing to buy ventilators when a state task force called for it, and Jerry Brown's sell-off of emergency mobile hospitals and medical supplies that Schwarzenegger had bought.

[Cyber Liberty]

Cuomo had the stuff, he just lied about having it to score political points against the President.  Andy carries praise in one hand, and condemnation in the other.

He's no better than the people cleaning out all the toilet paper in the stores.

[PeteS in CA]

Guess which state was the first jurisdiction to pass a Certificate of Need law, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_need .