(This story first appeared in the North Carolina Tribune)
N.C. House Republicans aren’t exactly sold on the idea of massively subsidizing UNC Health and Duke Health’s plan to build $2 billion children’s hospital somewhere in the Triangle, two leaders say.
“We have an information deficit,” said Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth. “Our caucus is saying, ‘With tight economic times, can we really afford the amount of money they’re asking for?’”
UNC and Duke officials are “fine-tuning their numbers,” but the project’s legislative backers have “got to do a better job of talking to our caucus and educating them,” said Lambeth, one of the chairs of the House Appropriations Committee. He is a former hospital president.
House Speaker Destin Hall made a similar point.
Though the caucus is “certainly not opposed” to the project, “we just need to get some more information,” said Hall, R-Caldwell.
“We need to make sure that if we’re going to do it, that we’re doing it in the right way and that we’re not just throwing money at it to see what happens,” Hall said.
The children’s hospital is shaping up as a multi-part project with funding from a combination of the health systems’ revenue, private philanthropy and state subsidy. Former State Treasurer Richard Moore is among the project’s fundraising leaders.
The subsidy part of that equation is shaping up as one of the major differences between House and Senate budget plans for the 2025-27 biennium.
With Senate leader Phil Berger firmly behind the initiative, the Senate’s proposal would authorize as much as $854.7 million in state spending on the children’s hospital.
House appropriators, however, have countered by proposing a reduction in the already existing state-spending cap, which is currently $319.7 million. Their plan would take that down to $216.2 million.
Hall and Lambeth said House Republicans want a better understanding of the business case for the project, particularly the data underlying claims that some families are opting to go out of state for care.
“I think everybody agrees that if children in this state are not getting the care that they need, then we need to act and no matter the cost, we need to get it done,” Hall said.
The speaker said legislators want a better idea of what Duke Health is putting on the table, financially. They also want to see whether other private universities have a role to play in the initiative.
“Would a Wake Forest be interested in this?” Hall said. “They have a big partnership with Atrium, and they’re building a massive facility in Charlotte right now with the new Wake Forest medical school.” Atrium Health is the state’s largest hospital operator.
UNC Health officials are pledging their cooperation with legislators.
“We will continue to work closely with leadership at the General Assembly to ensure they have all the information needed on the N.C. Children’s project,” system spokesman Alan Wolf said. “We appreciate that N.C. Children’s is part of the ongoing budget negotiations and welcome support from state leaders.”
