{"id":618751,"date":"2026-09-09T00:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T00:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/618751\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T00:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T00:30:08","slug":"ask-13-why-cant-all-4-health-systems-build-new-hospital-beds-in-western-north-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/618751\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask 13: Why can’t all 4 health systems build new hospital beds in western North Carolina?"},"content":{"rendered":"

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) \u2014 Four health care systems are competing for approval to add 92 hospital beds in western North Carolina. But why does the state have to choose just one?<\/p>\n

That’s the question from a viewer named David, who wrote to Ask 13 after learning about the competition involving Mission Health, Novant Health, UNC Health and AdventHealth.<\/p>\n

“We can use all four in this area. It makes no sense to restrict the applicants. Let them all build. Great for competition and a choice of better care,” he wrote.<\/p>\n

The answer comes down to a decades-old North Carolina law: the Certificate of Need process.<\/p>\n

HEALTH CARE GROUPS COMPETE FOR 92 ACUTE CARE BEDS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA<\/a><\/p>\n

What is a Certificate of Need?<\/p>\n

North Carolina requires healthcare providers to receive state approval before adding certain hospital beds, facilities, or services.<\/p>\n

The state first began requiring approval for hospitals to add beds in 1971. After that law was struck down by the North Carolina Supreme Court, lawmakers reinstated a broader Certificate of Need system in 1978.<\/p>\n

The purpose is to prevent unnecessary duplication of healthcare facilities and services and, ultimately, help control healthcare costs.<\/p>\n

The North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation describes the fundamental premise of the law as restricting the unnecessary duplication of existing or approved healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n

So, rather than allowing every applicant to build, the state evaluates the community’s needs and determines whether additional healthcare capacity is justified.<\/p>\n

BUNCOMBE COUNTY BACKS UNC HEALTH, ADVENTHEALTH IN COMPETITION FOR 92 NEW HOSPITAL BEDS<\/a><\/p>\n

Why are the four health systems competing?<\/p>\n

For this project, 92 hospital beds have been designated for western North Carolina. Mission Health, Novant Health, UNC Health and AdventHealth are all seeking approval to receive those beds.<\/p>\n

Because of the Certificate of Need process, the state will determine which proposal or proposals, depending on the specific review, best meet the community’s identified healthcare needs.<\/p>\n

The process is designed to consider factors such as the need for additional beds, duplication of existing services and how healthcare resources are distributed.<\/p>\n

A decision on the Certificate of Need is expected by the end of 2026. We’ll continue following the process and will update you when the state makes its decision.<\/p>\n

Have a question for us? Email us at Ask13@wlos.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) \u2014 Four health care systems are competing for approval to add 92 hospital beds in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[103,397,396,61,60],"class_list":["post-618751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}