Is there a problem with admitting sick people to hospitals in this state? One might be inclined to think so with all the chatter about reshaping or eliminating the Certificate of Need requirement in Georgia.

The Certificate of Need law has been a part of the Peach State landscape since 1979 following a mandate passed by the U.S. Congress. The law requires hospitals and other health care providers to apply to the Georgia Department of Community Health for permission to add new facilities or services. Applicants must prove a need for what they are requesting.

Its purpose, of course, was to hold down health care costs, an objective Congress jettisoned in 1986 when it removed the mandate. The majority of the 50 states, far better managers of their budgets and expenditures, have kept the CON requirement.

Eleven states have ditched the law since 1990, most recently South Carolina. Its legislature voted this year to scrap the measure with the exception of how it applies to long-term health care.

A number of Georgia senators want to do likewise but failed to convince the House to go along with the move. Now, both law-making chambers will examine the matter further through appointed study committees.

The question remains, is there an alarming shortage of hospital beds in this state? It is common knowledge that hospitals are having the devil of a time finding, hiring and keeping nurses and other health care staff. How will removing the CON requirement and allowing the construction of competing hospitals help or solve that issue in Georgia?

In short, the answer is that it won’t. Salary costs alone would rise, as well as hospital bills. Chalk it up to the cost of maintaining a full complement of competent staff. Hospitals in this and other states are already paying through the nose for traveling health care workers.

Georgians might ask themselves where the pressure is coming from to dump the CON requirement, as well as the reason for the hard push. On the surface, it sounds like someone is eager to get a foothold in the state but is unable to because of CON requirements.

Legislators and other members of study groups pondering the fate of CON must weigh the positives against the negatives before making a recommendation to the full House and Senate. The minefield surrounding health care is large enough without adding to it.