But Senator Richardville is pushing the Legislature hard to pass a bill that would give McLaren a special exemption from the certificate of need process. Executives of other hospitals oppose the legislation; they rightly fear not only empty beds, but also higher costs.
The timing is highly dubious. Suspicions are rife in Lansing that McLaren has made a large contribution to the Senate Republican caucus, or will make one if the bill goes through. Some statehouse observers wonder whether Senator Richardville, who will be out of a job when his term ends in three months, has thoughts of working for McLaren.
"Yeah, well, they’re not tied together if that’s what you’re asking," said Richardville.
As you can expect, others aren't so sure if that's actually the case. Check out the full report here.
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