Justices decline to take up hospital dispute

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Supreme Court on Friday declined to take up an appeal by the state Agency for Health Care Administration in a dispute about whether a Baker County hospital can challenge the approval of a potential competitor in nearby Jacksonville.

Justices issued a brief order saying they would not hear a request from the agency and West Jacksonville Medical Center to overturn a ruling last year by the 1st District Court of Appeal.

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The case has focused on whether Baker County's Ed Fraser Memorial Hospital should be able to challenge what is known as a "certificate of need" for the West Jacksonville facility.

Certificates of need are a controversial regulatory process in which the state must approve plans for new and expanded hospitals and other types of health-care facilities.

The Agency for Health Care Administration in 2010 approved a certificate of need for the West Jacksonville hospital.

But under a settlement, the certificate would not become effective until mid-2013 and licensure of the new hospital could happen no earlier than December 2016, according to the appeals-court decision.

Ed Fraser, which could face competition from the new hospital, filed a lawsuit arguing that the agency overstepped its authority in delaying the validity of the certificate of need.

The 1st District Court of Appeal allowed Ed Fraser's challenge to move forward.