Cancer Treatment Centers pursuing fifth hospital

Cancer Treatment Centers of America says a bill signed into law by Georgia's governor should clear the way for the chain's fifth hospital. Cancer Treatment Centers operates a chain of hospitals that offer traditional treatments of cancer surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and stem-cell transplants. Some states' certificate of need laws, however, have not been friendly to specialty hospitals gaining entry to certain markets. Opponents in Atlanta, for example, argued that Cancer Treatment Centers would be adding excess capacity where there are ample cancer facilities at existing hospitals. Georgia's legislature recently approved reforms to that state's laws that allows Cancer Treatment Centers to apply for a CON.