Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm in a surprise move last week vetoed a recent rule change approved by the state’s Certificate Of Need Commission that would have required hospitals to form a consortium to build a state-of-the-art new cancer treatment center.
In vetoing the commission’s new rule, Granholm paved the way for William Beaumont Hospitals to move ahead with its plans to build a proton-beam therapy center on its own. That plan was one of the chief reasons the CON commission implemented the new rule in May, as hospitals opposed to Beaumont’s plan said it would spark too much competition for the costly new technology in the state and urged the commission to restrict the technology to a single center.
Six hospitals, led by the University of Michigan Health System, have formed a consortium to build their own proton-beam therapy center, which is estimated to cost $160 million.
In a letter to the commission, Granholm contended the new rule could violate antitrust laws under the federal Sherman Act, and that it was likely to “harm competition and will potentially result in harm to cancer patients in Michigan.” Earlier, she had been widely expected to approve the rule change, and asked the commission to hold an emergency meeting in July to consider the issue.
So far both Royal Oaks-based Beaumont and the University of Michigan-led group have signaled they will move forward with their plans to build separate proton beam centers.
