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Bill would allow private cancer treatment center
CONCORD — A bill to rewrite state law and allow a private cancer treatment center to come to southern New Hampshire will get a hearing today.
The bill, HB 1642, would create a special “destination cancer hospital” classification, which would be exempt from the state’s Certification of Need review process for new hospitals, as well as the Medicaid enhancement tax, since it wouldn’t accept Medicaid patients.
The bill is aimed at bringing a Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) clinic to a location near Interstate 93 in the southern part of the state.
The for-profit CTCA is based in Illinois and operates centers in Illinois, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.
The hearing before the Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee, is expected to draw representatives from the New Hampshire Hospital Association and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock hospital network, which are opposed to the bill. They have argued that the company should receive no special dispensation from that state.
Critics have also faulted CTCA for the intensive lobbying efforts it’s made in seeking to open locations in other states and to win special tax incentives.
Five of the sponsors of the bill in the Legislature flew to one of CTCA’s centers in Philadelphia on Dec. 7, with airfare paid the company, according to records kept by the Secretary of State’s Office. The company paid roughly $304 for each lawmaker.
The bill’s main sponsor, Marilinda Garcia, R-Salem, was among those who went on the trip, which she strongly defended. ”I’ve seen the hospital before. I arranged the trip for my co-sponsors. If we’re trying to encourage this special type of business, it’s appropriate that they see it for themselves,” she said, adding, “The idea that taking a day trip to Philadelphia is some kind of junket is absurd.”
CTCA covered the cost of airfare and no other expenses, according to the forms.
It does not appear that the company has hired any lobbyists in Concord, according to Secretary of State records.
Garcia said the company will not have representatives at today’s hearing. She and legislative supporters will speak on its behalf, she said.
The bill has strong support in the House, including from House Speaker William O’Brien, R-Mont Vernon, who is a co-sponsor.
Citing 500 jobs and millions in economic activity the cancer center would bring, O’Brien has said that the bill would “make the Granite State a health care destination by removing the barriers that entrenched interests use to block competition and stop new economic growth opportunities.”
The bill, HB 1642, would create a special “destination cancer hospital” classification, which would be exempt from the state’s Certification of Need review process for new hospitals, as well as the Medicaid enhancement tax, since it wouldn’t accept Medicaid patients.
The bill is aimed at bringing a Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) clinic to a location near Interstate 93 in the southern part of the state.
The for-profit CTCA is based in Illinois and operates centers in Illinois, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.
The hearing before the Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee, is expected to draw representatives from the New Hampshire Hospital Association and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock hospital network, which are opposed to the bill. They have argued that the company should receive no special dispensation from that state.
Critics have also faulted CTCA for the intensive lobbying efforts it’s made in seeking to open locations in other states and to win special tax incentives.
Five of the sponsors of the bill in the Legislature flew to one of CTCA’s centers in Philadelphia on Dec. 7, with airfare paid the company, according to records kept by the Secretary of State’s Office. The company paid roughly $304 for each lawmaker.
The bill’s main sponsor, Marilinda Garcia, R-Salem, was among those who went on the trip, which she strongly defended. ”I’ve seen the hospital before. I arranged the trip for my co-sponsors. If we’re trying to encourage this special type of business, it’s appropriate that they see it for themselves,” she said, adding, “The idea that taking a day trip to Philadelphia is some kind of junket is absurd.”
CTCA covered the cost of airfare and no other expenses, according to the forms.
It does not appear that the company has hired any lobbyists in Concord, according to Secretary of State records.
Garcia said the company will not have representatives at today’s hearing. She and legislative supporters will speak on its behalf, she said.
The bill has strong support in the House, including from House Speaker William O’Brien, R-Mont Vernon, who is a co-sponsor.
Citing 500 jobs and millions in economic activity the cancer center would bring, O’Brien has said that the bill would “make the Granite State a health care destination by removing the barriers that entrenched interests use to block competition and stop new economic growth opportunities.”