David Witmer wants to bring reduced-cost MRI scans to Charlottesville, but faces a lot of resistance.

When an old friend called me a few weeks ago to talk about bringing an MRI scanner to the Charlottesville area, it initially sounded like a story which was probably better left for the back of the Daily Progress. With all the talk about health care reform, the ever-increasing cost of health care and the fact that, as an entrepreneur, I’ve payed insurance that’s increased 50% in 2 years, I quickly realized that the issue went far beyond a clanking magnetic scanner.  Explanations for increased health care costs are: overuse and misuse of insurance, the cost of treating the uninsured, increased prevalence of malpractice lawsuits, limited supply of health care providers,  low growth in productivity (the ability to efficiently service patients) and more expensive treatments for people who live longer.  Today, this issue has become very local.  We look at how anti-competitive regulation more than doubles the cost for MRI services in Charlottesville.

Dave Witmer’s an orthopedic surgeon who told me several times that “no one is going to like me over there.”  »Read More

Seth Rosen, from the Daily Progress, reports:

But there are divisions over the merits of going a step further and building an expensive bus rapid transit system with dedicated lanes on U.S. 29. Though a fleet of sleek, larger buses speeding down exclusive lanes would shrink travel time and make transit a more attractive option, it would cost up to $138 million to lay down the asphalt and build the infrastructure.

Currently, only 2% of Albemarle County residents and 5% of City residents ride the bus to work. While a fancy bus system may benefit a small few, this sounds like an insane amount of money to spend on something. I’m all for public transportation, but how much would usage increase if we had a top tier bus system?

Slutzky, a Supervisor, tells the Daily Progress:

Even if we had to fund it ourselves, we can afford it, $138 million sounds like a big number when you put it out there by itself, but when you put it in context, it is quite doable.

Are they going to get the money from those “increases” in real estate assessments?

[via Daily Progress] [pic]