
Credit: PBS Healthcare Management
by James C. Sherlock
Governor Youngkin and his new administration have an opportunity to fix crucial problems in the Department of Health that have been festering for decades.
The issues:
- How can Virginia regulate effectively its state-created healthcare monopolies?
- In a directly related matter, how can we fix the failures, famously demonstrated during COVID, of the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) in its other missions ?
The power of Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need (COPN) to control the business of healthcare in Virginia was the original sin. Giving that power to the Department of Health made it worse.
From that point VDH was the agent of its own corruption. Never charged by the General Assembly to create regional monopolies in its administration of Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need (COPN) law, VDH did so anyway.
Actions have consequences.
Now those regional healthcare monopolies are each the largest private business in their regions, have achieved political dominance in Richmond, and effectively control VDH. Continue reading