Costs of Regulation

Emergency Rooms are closing at an alarming rate here in California. Here's why:

One (factor) is a set of earthquake retrofit requirements adopted after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. In response to the quake, the state required hundreds of buildings in California to be retrofitted to prevent a catastrophic collapse, and set a deadline of 2008 for compliance. Extensions now make it possible for many hospitals to put off that deadline until 2013.

Another factor cited by hospitals is a new law that took effect in January requiring a specified nurse-to-patient ratio in hospitals throughout California, which has one of the worst nursing shortages in the country.

Link via Socialized Medicine