§ 131E-192.1. Findings.
Article 9A.
Certificate of Public Advantage.
§ 131E‑192.1. Findings.
The General Assembly of North Carolina makes the following findings:
(1) That technological and scientific developments in hospitalcare have enhanced the prospects for further improvement in the quality of careprovided by North Carolina hospitals to North Carolina citizens.
(2) That the cost of improved technology and improved scientificmethods for the provision of hospital care contributes substantially to theincreasing cost of hospital care. Cost increases make it increasinglydifficult for hospitals in rural areas of North Carolina to offer care.
(3) That changes in federal and State regulations governinghospital operation and reimbursement have constrained the ability of hospitalsto acquire and develop new and improved machinery and methods for the provisionof hospital‑related care.
(4) That cooperative agreements among hospitals and betweenhospitals and others for the provision of health care services may fosterimprovements in the quality of health care for North Carolina citizens,moderate increases in cost, improve access to needed services in rural areas ofNorth Carolina, and enhance the likelihood that smaller hospitals in NorthCarolina will remain open in beneficial service to their communities.
(5) That hospitals are often in the best position to identifyand structure cooperative arrangements that enhance quality of care, improveaccess, and achieve cost‑efficiency in the provision of care.
(6) That federal and State antitrust laws may prohibit ordiscourage cooperative arrangements that are beneficial to North Carolinacitizens despite their potential for or actual reduction in competition andthat such agreements should be permitted and encouraged.
(7) That competition as currently mandated by federal andState antitrust laws should be supplanted by a regulatory program to permit andencourage cooperative agreements between hospitals, or between hospitals andothers, that are beneficial to North Carolina citizens when the benefits ofcooperative agreements outweigh their disadvantages caused by their potentialor actual adverse effects on competition.
(8) That regulatory as well as judicial oversight of cooperativeagreements should be provided to ensure that the benefits of cooperativeagreements permitted and encouraged in North Carolina outweigh anydisadvantages attributable to any reduction in competition likely to resultfrom the agreements. (1993, c. 529, s. 5.2.)