Editorial: Take it slow on hospital regulations

Gov. Kenny Guinn wants to get rid of price regulations on big for-profit hospitals in Nevada, but the Legislature should take a closer look at the proposal before embracing it. At the time the cost-containment legislation was passed in 1991 it was estimated that Nevada had the dubious distinction of having the highest hospital costs in the nation.

The law, which automatically expires every two years unless the Legislature renews it, applies to five hospitals -- Columbia, Desert Springs and Valley hospitals in Las Vegas and Washoe Medical and St. Mary's in Reno. These hospitals can only increase their rates as high as the annual medical price index.

Nevada now has lowered its ranking to around the tenth highest in the nation, according to the Guinn administration. While it's good to see some improvement, having the tenth-highest hospital costs doesn't seem like much to brag about, and certainly doesn't signal a need to drop the law.

As the Sun's Cy Ryan reported Friday, an argument put forth by the Guinn administration is that the dynamics of the health care market have shifted since the law was enacted in 1991. State Human Resources Director Charlotte Crawford said the law doesn't really affect costs any more. She said that few people pay bill charges anymore, with most patients having insurance, Medicare or some other arrangement where the rate they pay is lower than the billed charge.

Even if most Nevadans are protected by the bargaining power their health plans have when negotiating with a hospital for reduced rates, the state does have an interest in making sure that those without insurance aren't gouged by high charges. Getting precise figures on the number of Nevadans who are uninsured isn't easy, but some estimate that those not covered by a health plan in this state could be as high as 270,000 people.

It is promising that Crawford did say Guinn will discuss whether there are other ways to regulate costs. Since Nevada's hospital-cost ranking improved, it appears that the legislation advocated by then-Gov. Bob Miller worked. The Guinn administration should present more evidence and make a convincing case why this law should not be renewed.

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