Governor Manchin says medium-sized West Virginia hospitals may perform emergency procedures to clear clogged heart arteries without onsite surgical backup.



But he also wants the state Health Care Authority to rework the wording on the proposed rule for elective angioplasties.

The rule Manchin rejected says hospitals could not do elective angioplasty if they are within one-hour medical transport drive time from another facility that has a heart surgery unit.

Hospitals want to know if that one-hour window means drive time only, or includes the time it takes to prepare a patient for transport.

Health Care Authority Chairwoman Sonia Chambers says the board has already begun looking at how to clarify the language. She expects it to address the issue at its July 30th meeting.

Manchin spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg says the governor intends to allow elective angioplasty at certain hospitals once the rule is clarified.

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