WVHCA, HCA, Putnam General, LifePoint: News Article Swirl Around Hospital Sale and Putnam Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

The certificates of need involving the approval of the sale of 5 HCA hospitals to LifePoint in West Virginia is getting a lot of press over the last couple of days. Much of the press is linked to the pending medical malpractice lawsuits involving Dr. King and Putnam General Hospital.

The AP seems to make a lot of fuss over the connections between the pending medical malpractice lawsuits and the acquisition/certificates of need approval process. The AP even bring the Senator Frist SEC investigation into the article. I don't see the connection. I guess it might be an attempt to make CON regulatory law reporting more exciting.