NC Attorney General Stein says state should ‘deny Mission’ hospital expansion application
ASHEVILLE – North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is asking the state Department Health and Human Services deny HCA Healthcare-owned Mission Hospital’s application to expand in Buncombe County.
Stein’s request came in a letter dated July 25, in which he said Mission had “almost no competition” for acute care in Buncombe County.
The for-profit Mission is competing with two other nonprofit hospital systems, AdventHealth and Novant Health, for a certificate of need to build 67 new beds in the county.
“Mission has almost no competition for acute care in Buncombe County,” Stein said in the letter. “The lack of competition is the result of Mission’s unique history. Mission effectively operated as a legislatively authorized monopoly for over twenty years, and no new hospitals have opened even after Mission’s arrangement with the State ended in 2016.”
He said the lack of competition “harms residents of Western North Carolina” because it increases costs and reduces quality of local health care services.
“I don’t care which of the other two hospitals that applied get it, I just want more competition for health care in Western North Carolina,” Stein reiterated in an interview with local media July 25.
“While we are not aligned with the opinion expressed in the AG Office’s letter, we are confident the NC Department of Health and Human Services will evaluate our application based on the state’s most recent Medical Facilities Plan, which detailed the need for 67 additional acute care beds,” said Mission spokesperson Nancy Lindell.
“We are proud of our high-quality care and the significant investments we have made to expand access to healthcare, none of which were opposed by the AG’s office.”
The three hospital systems submitted their CONs mid-June and a public comment period opened July 1. That period will last through July 31 and be followed by a public hearing on Aug. 12, the first held by the Division of Health Service Regulation since March 2020.
Currently, anyone can write a letter of support for one of the three hospitals and email it to DHSR.CON.Comments@dhhs.nc.gov and julie.faenza@dhhs.nc.gov.
In the CON documents — which comprise roughly 3,000 pages — Mission, AdventHealth and Novant each argue their case to bring 67 new acute care beds to Buncombe County, a need identified by the 2022 State Medical Facilities Plan that would also serve Graham, Madison and Yancey counties.
Those documents contain hundreds of letters of support. Some letters supporting AdventHealth and Novant echo Stein’s stance on competition.
In the CON documents — which comprise roughly 3,000 pages — Mission, AdventHealth and Novant each argue their case to bring 67 new acute care beds to Buncombe County, a need identified by the 2022 State Medical Facilities Plan that would also serve Graham, Madison and Yancey counties.
Those documents contain hundreds of letters of support. Some letters supporting AdventHealth and Novant echo Stein’s stance on competition.
The DHSR is expected to make a decision on the CONs in the coming months, though there is no solid timeline in place.
Update: This story has been updated with a comment from Mission Hospital.
