Duke Health and UNC Health will again compete over who gets to expand acute-care bed capacity, the backbone of any hospital system, WUNC reports.
In North Carolina, health services are tightly regulated. Before a hospital can expand, state health regulators must first determine a need for those added health services in a geographic area, and then decide which of the competing bids gets to add those services. This is the only way health systems in the state can grow physical capacity, meaning these regulators hold significant control over the state’s health-care industry.
Duke University Hospital proposes to add all 68 beds at its main hospital in Durham. UNC Health proposes to add 34 beds to a new hospital in Research Triangle Park named UNC Hospitals-RTP.
The Division of Health Services Regulation, part of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, will award the beds. It can make partial awards, so it’s possible UNC could get its full request of 34 beds and Duke could get the remaining 34 beds. Read more.
