By Steven Allen Adams, The Intelligencer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With hospitals overwhelmed with the influx of COVID-19 patients and with a shortage of nurses and medical professionals, some believe that now is the moment to remove a possible barrier, West Virginia’s certificate of need law.
A bill to do just that could be introduced and on a committee agenda in the House of Delegates by the end of the month, but opponents believe that repealing certificates of need won’t solve the problem of job flight and could decrease the quality of care West Virginians could receive in the future.
House Majority Leader Amy Summers, R-Taylor, is an emergency room nurse and has long been a supporter of repealing the certificate of need. Summers was the lead sponsor of House Bill 2077 last year that would have eliminated certificates of need. That bill was never taken up by committee.
House Republicans have introduced bills to repeal the certificate of need every year since 2017, but speaking Friday morning, Summers said support is finally growing for removing the requirement from code…
