Inova, a hospital chain quickly reaching throughout Washington, D.C.’s wealthy Virginia suburbs, has dropped its plans to acquire another hospital.
Last year, Inova announced a plan to acquire a hospital in Manassas, Virginia, a formerly exurban community that has quickly become a part of the Washington suburban area. The acquisition would have given the company more than 80% of the available hospital beds in Northern Virginia, and the Federal Trade Commission quickly announced it would oppose the move.
This week, faced with a legal complaint from the agency, Inova abandoned its plans to acquire the hospital. We spoke with some area residents about the loss of promised new facilities and expansion. One told us that he goes to Inova’s Fairfax Hospital whenever possible. “For a broken arm or something basic, [Prince William]…hospital is fine, but if I want a team ready to help me 24/7, I’m going to a place with top trauma teams and more facilities and money.”
We agree that competition is ultimately good for consumers and that the economic barriers to entry for a new hospital are staggering. Since so much health care is actually dictated by a very small group of insurance companies, however, we wonder about the wisdom of letting the accountants dictate the quality of care versus a hospital. There are potentials for abuse on both sides, but if more resources means the quality of care increases for some Virginia residents, we have to question whether the FTC’s actions in this matter really benefited public health.
Posted under Health
This post was written by George Bounacos on June 8, 2008
