Free market competition has done absolutely nothing to lower healthcare expenses. Redundancy of expensive equipment and facilities in the name of competition ends up costing us all more, not less. Universal healthcare now!

CON is clearly needed as it's about the only thing that's keeping Maine from becoming THE for-profit health care State in the Country as opposed to actually providing the facillities needed. This constant call for unregulated, and thus uneeded, health care facillities is one reason why health care is so expensive, and also why the health care industry is so hell-bent on building them. They're seen as profit center's, not health care facillities. About 4 years ago the Fed's sent out a huge amount of money to improve health care here in Northern Maine. What they got was a few provider's with the money, a lot of shiny new facillities and the rest of the State still with health care facilliies barely one step above a military aid station, and those w/ no means of doing even the most basic of lab work that could be immediately effective in patient care.

Does CON work ? Right now, NO, since it's not being used effectively, is being abused by any number of folk's who have more than the public's interest at heart AND is severely not being coordinated with the Fed's funding source's. In this case the 'Smaller Gov't' folk's have it right. Let the local's, and the State if it comes to that, determine what we need and provide us with the means to get the job done. Oversee and audit the program and the money up the gaazoo, as is both called for by responsible law and business common sense. But let the local's, WITHOUT THE POLITICIAN'S, determine what we need, not someone, even in in Augusta, determine our need. We have entirely too many folk's in Augusta, and in DC too, that have more than a little problem with those pesky Conflict of Interest law's, having the outright nerve telling us folk's what we need. At least up here in The County we know what we need, vs want. Augusta, apparently, doesn't. And folk's wonder why 2014 is going to be so interesting.

Without the CON process, everyday citizens would have no warning, knowledge or influence over changes or acquisitions in our healthcare systems. Consider the recent sale of EMMC dialysis to Davita Inc. The CON allowed them in, but before they did, at least we citizens got a chance to examine them, discuss in public our concerns and reveal who this new Corporation was that would be caring for our neighbors who need dialysis. It is my understanding that things are not going well under the new Davita management, and that is tragic for the patients. My thoughts are that if we grant a CON to a For Profit or even non profit healthcare organization to operate in this State, then we ought to be able to take away if they do not perform to Mainer's standards. Let's expand the powers of the CON!

My local hospital is always building and adding on. I always wonder why, but they are a non profit so they must have to get rid of money any way they can. I'm pretty sure these expansions just make services more expensive for everybody.

What most folks don't realize is that non-profits can indeed make a profit. Surprise surprise! There are a variety of ways for them to do this not the least of which are large salaries for the organizations board of directors and operating officers. They can also direct money to their buddies who own for-profit corporations that do projects or work for them. Then you have the non-profit organizations which have a 'for-profit' division. Imagine how convenient that can be. It was a shock for me to learn just how abused the term 'non-profit' actually is. In many cases it is a tax free, government subsidized, scam. The laws need to be rewritten yet that won't happen. It would be construed as not business friendly and the GOP would go nuts if their buddies who contributed to their campaigns didn't have their little tax havens.

You mean like Sussman and Pingree?

Fair enough. Good point. Both parties are infected and rife with opportunism.