A medical community's battle over a proposed $34 million ambulatory surgery and imaging center in Evans has moved into the judicial arena.
Judge James G. Blanchard Jr. could rule as early as next month in the precedent-setting case: University Health Services and Doctors Hospital Surgery Center, known as the Evans Surgery Center, v. the Georgia Department of Community Health and the Medical College of Georgia Physicians Practice Group Foundation.
Last week, Judge Blanchard heard arguments from both sides about the decision of Clyde L. Reese III, sitting in place of the commissioner of the Department of Community Health, to grant the Physicians Practice Group a Certificate of Need to build the new center.
If that decision is upheld, the Physicians Practice Group will be cleared, unless there are further appeals, to build the 65,000-square-foot center at Knob Hill and Washington Roads.
Judge Blanchard gave each side 20 days to file additional briefs. He indicated he also needed more time to review the documents already filed in the case, a stack that measures in feet rather than inches, before issuing a decision.
Whatever decision he reaches, it will be the first one on the issue since the General Assembly amended the law governing the review process for obtaining a Certificate of Need in 2008, according to a spokesman for the Department of Community Health.
The law requires any new institutional health-service provider to obtain a Certificate of Need by meeting specific criteria. One of those factors is the need for such services in an area.
The Physicians Practice Group did not argue that there was a need for more ambulatory surgery units in the area around Evans. But, the group contends, it could meet an overreaching need -- ambulatory surgery services for poor and low-income people.
The first decision by the Department of Community Health staff in September 2008 was to grant the Certificate of Need.
University Health Services and Doctors Hospital Surgery Center requested an administrative appeal. The administrative hearing officer took testimony and issued a decision in April that the Certificate of Need should be denied. The Physicians Practice Group couldn't prove there was a barrier to ambulatory surgery services for poor people, the hearing officer ruled.
Physicians Practice Group appealed to the Department of Community Health's commissioner and won in June. The lawsuit was filed the next month.
According to court documents and the attorneys' arguments last week, both sides contend the review process is limited to glaring legal errors, not a substitution of one reviewer's opinion for another.
Attorneys for the University and Doctors entities contend that Mr. Reese overstepped his reviewer role by inserting evidence he believed showed the new surgery center would improve access and increase charitable care. They argued that even if that is true, Physician's Practice Group still hasn't shown that the poor are denied access, which is the standard Mr. Reese was supposed to meet.
Attorneys for the Department of Community Health and Physicians Practice Group countered that the judge could overrule Mr. Reese only if the plaintiffs' rights were substantially violated by the appeal process, and they contend that didn't happen. They further countered that Mr. Reese was allowed to consider additional factors and that he based his decision on adequate evidence.
Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or sandy.hodson@augustachronicle.com.
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Since when did PPG, otherwise known as the Practice group for MCG Health Inc., ever care about ambulatory surgery services for poor and low-income people? This is the same group that operates within MCG Health Inc, that is one of the most profitable hospital's and clinic's in the country. The CEO is the renown Don Snell, and he knows very little about operating anything for "poor and low-income people." Give me a break!
This is just costly legal politics to drag out and delay a much needed service in Columbia County. It happens all over the state.
What's at stake here? Dollars, and plenty of them. Legal fees included, who can deny that this is another example of the profit motive driving health care costs. And where is this battle over dollars occurring? In Columbia County, of course, where the people with REAL money hold out.
A Certificate of Need is the tool of the biggest monopoly around.
But everyone is concerned about the rising cost of healthcare, right. BS!!!! A clinic on every corner. A woman's center on every corner. A drug store on every corner. A hospital two miles from another hospital. Businesses have learned from the government. Sheeple are stupid. Creating "overhead", increasing the cost.
What's with building "palaces" for doctors offices? Waterfalls cascading down the walls in Evans. Are doctors concerned about cost. BS!!! Are they providing medical care or entertaining their patients? Or are they simple trying to hide their profits from the IRS? My cost went through the roof last year, yeh. Maybe it is pandering to their own EGO's.
Strange that Judge Blanchard got this particular case.
It's about keeping poor and low-income people out of CC.
There are plenty of hospitals and primary care centers in this area. PPG's statement of meeting the needs of poor and low income people is really a mute point. Typical PPG Bull. All they want is more money that will come from the paying patients in CC. They must think people are stupid. I will be very interested in Blanchard's decision and his reasons for making it.
No Corgimom, it's not. It's about duplication of services and area hospitals all wanting a piece of the pie. A third facility of this kind has to be justified first, otherwise all 3 of them may fail due to lack of business.
Oh, and BTW their justification of meeting the needs of the poor and low income segment of society is lame. How many in this segment live in Columbia County? MCG needs to find another way to stuff their pockets.
We have enough of those in Evans!!! imagine the traffic at that location. That is the only way to get to the three schools, get it together Columbia County!! We don't have the road structure for that. PREDICT AND PREVENT!!!
First of all, it is the physicians groups building and not MCG. Don Snell has nothing to do with it. Don Snell and MCGHI make good money, the physicians group does not. How do you expect to recruit and retain medical talent with less and less state support, and academic physicians having to produce and pay their way while they teach all our future doctors , which does not pay. The physicians at MCG need a better payor mix, just as the University and Doctors Hospitals physicians have. How many of the "private physicians" take Medicaid? Not many, and if they do and they referr patients for procedures they referr them to MCG if they have Medicaid and save the private payors for their private practice buddies at UH and Doctors. People who live out in Columbia County do not want to take the awful drive down Washington 45 min each way to get their care at MCG. Why can we have better acess to the MCG physicains by having a clinic out in Evans? If University and Doctors are confident in their quality of care and service they have nothing to worry about if MCG builds a clinic. Augusta should want MCG to succeed and provide more clinics for residents to train as well.
If MCG really wanted to help people they would open bafck up their indigent care sliding scale family medicine center for those who do not have insurance. They work hard, but barely make ends meet and can not afford good insurance, but at least with the plan they could pay 30-40% of their bills, which would help them get the care they need to stay in the workforce. Even if you went in for a cold you got charged 2x, once by MCG and once by PPG. A cold visit would run you about 300 bux, but with the scale it cost out of pocket about 100. Now that seems to compete with most dr's and urgent care places, but once you go beyond a simple visit, the cost is so enormous you can't get that surgery you need, or those mri's to find whats keeping you out of work etc... This PPG surgery center sounds good, but we need centers to include more than just surgery or the common cold. It would even benefit those of us who have insurance, but the company will not pay because of lack of some coverage through a loophole! Its almost like they make you have to choose which illness you will be gambling on getting. And for those presky pre existing illnesses you were born with!
Since when did PPG, otherwise known as the Practice group for MCG Health Inc., ever care about ambulatory surgery services for poor and low-income people? This is the same group that operates within MCG Health Inc, that is one of the most profitable hospital's and clinic's in the country. The CEO is the renown Don Snell, and he knows very little about operating anything for "poor and low-income people." Give me a break!
Posted by Laguria on Sun Sep 13, 2009 2:45 AM....{Pure BS. MCG is the ER that takes all the county emergency cases and their ER is required to treat ALL wo come there. However, I see no reason for not havng a day surgery center in Columbia County rather than forcing people that live there to come all the way to Augusta.
Oh, and BTW their justification of meeting the needs of the poor and low income segment of society is lame. How many in this segment live in Columbia County? MCG needs to find another way to stuff their pockets.
Posted by okletssee on Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:04 AM....Evidently you forget the folks in Grovetown, Appling, and Harlem (and remaining farmers). Not exactly high income areas per the stats I have seen.
There is a lot of low income in CC okletssee, they work hard and just can't afford medical and barely make ends meet, they try to be self supporting and could use places like this to lend a hand in time of need. There just hasn't been been huge masses of people milking the government for total support, well until recently, they are creeping in at an alarming rate!!!
Ok, now I get it. The story is not well-written. Since the population is growing in the US, I just don't see any of the centers going out of business.
I'll make a prediction and say that Blanchard will take the side of PPG. Why? It will increase the property values thus be very beneficial to his family and friends.
I take back anything I said or thought about MCG or PPG helping anyone. They are nothing more than scam artists, who do not even do their jobs well. Who do we contact about fraudulent billing and substandard/incorrect care from these places, is there someone who oversees the medical community around here or do we just contact a lawyer? These p.o.s's need to be stopped, they are ripping off patients, insurance companies, and the taxpayers. This is the third time from these so called doctors, they need to be stopped!
GO for it...we need someone who cares and money is not the question... We have a moderate income and now considered very low class..our income is now poor...we can use a center that will care for us....THANK YOU!!!
Oh they will care kinda for you, at a costly price!!
Corgimom, you don't see any of the centers going out of business? Just because the population is growing? You definantly do NOT do accounting in the medical field!! Maybe you can Do Lunch with your medical accountant friends and keep up!!!!!!
Jack and TakeAStand, I did not say there were no low income people in CC- I asked How many? Besides, those of you who were being seen via MCG's ER got dumped and left with no where to go and Now they want your pennies again because THEY are hardup NOT because they want to bridge the gap and help you. I agree that ALL should have access to care- big problems in ER's due to being used like clinics- however I feel the powers to be should evaluate the situation a little closer and help the patients and the hospital. For example- low income pt comes every week to the ER with an asthma attack or shortness of breath- lots of wasted resources because the patient gets a RX for inhalers they can't possibly afford. If the hospital provided the inhaler which without insurance are about $150 a pop then it would last a while and cut that patients visits to the ER down to 1 instead of 4. Better yet if all health professionals donated 1 day every few months to free clinic care we could do a world of good and help our hospitals survive and ultimately save jobs. Also not taking BP meds due to cost and side effect of impotence causes renal failure- now BIG cost. Education could prevent this!!!!!
I ran out of room so I will continue on. The education I was refering to was that the patient could ask for a less expensive drug or samples or a 3 month supply or get the Dr. To write the Rx for a higher strength and direct to take half of the pill- you pay for most by the pill and not dose so if you say take 30mg get the 60mg and half it- saves money. Also with guys which a lot of times is young black males- they won't take the BP med due to the impotence side effect- they need to be told it doesn't happen with all of the BP meds- just need to inform the Dr. and change to another drug. Renal failure is a life changing illness. Also we see kids coming in with no heart function-should have 100% and have less than 20% due to cocaine and crack- this means they need a transplant but won't get on the list due to the reason for the Heartfailure- we need to EDUCATE!!! There is a retired MD at Hilton Head who has opened free clinics all over and is using retired MD's to staff them for free.