Fairmont General Hospital, Inc. v. United Hospital Center, Inc.

In this proceeding, the majority opinion has reinstated the certificate of need issued to United Hospital Center, Inc. (United) by the West Virginia Health Care Authority (HCA). I concur in the judgment reached by the majority opinion. I have chosen to write separately because I believe a different analysis should have been applied to attain the proper legal result.

A. The Certificate of Need Standards

The majority opinion acknowledged that none of parties raised the issue of whether HCA had authority to modify or amend certificate of need requirements. Nevertheless, the majority chose to sua…