CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State regulators say a Clarksburg hospital's proposed 21 percent rate increase was excessive and premature.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Clarksburg hospital seeking a 21 percent rate increase got a little more than half of what it requested.
The West Virginia Health Care Authority issued a ruling Thursday granting United Hospital Center an 11.25 percent increase. The ruling allows the hospital to charge $564 for the average outpatient visit and about $13,600 for the average stay.
United Hospital Center had said a 21 percent rate hike was needed to pay off loans for its new $300 million facility, which is scheduled to open in October.
Authority members said in the ruling that the hospital's proposed increase was excessive and premature.
But the decision left open the possibility of granting a series of increases.
"We are not going to do that all in one year," said Sonia Chambers, president of the authority's board of directors.
Chambers said the hospital might find efficiencies that it doesn't yet anticipate. "We would like to see how that plays out," she said.
The smaller rate approved by the authority includes a 6.25 percent increase the hospital would have received automatically because of inflation.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Clarksburg hospital seeking a 21 percent rate increase got a little more than half of what it requested.
The West Virginia Health Care Authority issued a ruling Thursday granting United Hospital Center an 11.25 percent increase. The ruling allows the hospital to charge $564 for the average outpatient visit and about $13,600 for the average stay.
United Hospital Center had said a 21 percent rate hike was needed to pay off loans for its new $300 million facility, which is scheduled to open in October.
Authority members said in the ruling that the hospital's proposed increase was excessive and premature.
But the decision left open the possibility of granting a series of increases.
"We are not going to do that all in one year," said Sonia Chambers, president of the authority's board of directors.
Chambers said the hospital might find efficiencies that it doesn't yet anticipate. "We would like to see how that plays out," she said.
The smaller rate approved by the authority includes a 6.25 percent increase the hospital would have received automatically because of inflation.
