• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Vermont eye center likely to receive CON; health centers voice disappointment

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, April 17, 2007

A new South Burlington, VT eye surgery center will likely receive a certificate of need (CON) from the state despite strong opposition to the facility from local health centers, according to the St. Albans Messenger.

The state's Public Oversight Committee voted 6-2 in favor of granting the CON to Vermont Eye Surgery, citing the likely increase in demand for eye surgery in the coming decade.

The center is limited to staffing of no more than four ophthalmologists and must contain no more than two operating rooms, according to the story.

Local health centers-Northwestern Medical Center (NMC), Fletcher Allen Health Care, and Porter Hospital in Middlebury-argued against the CON on grounds that the surgery center is unnecessary because the centers can handle the growing need for eye surgery.

"They're money machines," said Peter Hofstetter, CEO of the NMC, of ASCs, according to the St. Albans Messenger. "This is all about business."

The preliminary decision to grant the CON is contingent on an appeals process.

To read the St. Albans Messenger story, click here.

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive