On the surface, there seems little reason to oppose a specialty-treatment cancer hospital planned for south metro Atlanta.

The for-profit company that wants to build the hospital says that 65 percent of its patients will come from out of state, which means the facility won't take many patients away from Georgia's community hospitals. Cancer Treatment Centers of America also promises that the 50-bed facility will care for a fair share of poor and uninsured patients who need treatment.

For that reason, CTCA and its lobbyists have asked the state General Assembly to carve a special loophole in state law, exempting the hospital from the state's health-planning process that all proposed health care facilities must otherwise follow.

Supporters claim that the only "competition" created by the CTCA hospital will be in offering an integrated approach to cancer treatment —- nutritional, homeopathic and spiritual services, to go along with a full range of oncology services —- all under one roof. The implication is that these holistic services are not routinely available through traditional treatment plans offered by other cancer doctors and hospitals in Georgia.

That last claim bears closer examination by legislators who are falling in line to support the CTCA effort. The measure clearing a way for the hospital, Senate Bill 433, could come to the floor as early as today.

The bill ought to be defeated, because what CTCA offers is neither unique nor unavailable in Georgia.

Treatment plans for patients with advanced stages of cancer once focused almost exclusively on surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. There was also a time when oncologists were neglectful of pain-control methods, nutritional supplements and the emotional support that many of their patients needed. But all of that has changed dramatically over the last decade.

Oncologists at major medical centers and community hospitals now routinely coordinate their care with other specialists. More importantly, the state has stepped up efforts to support a network of advanced cancer treatment hospitals around Georgia, which offer access to many of the same services that CTCA claims to be exclusively its own. The CTCA hospital is not expected to participate in the state's network.

Treating cancer in its advanced stages is often controversial, in part because patients are so vulnerable —- physically, financially and emotionally. CTCA spends $15 million a year in television advertising and marketing schemes aimed directly at these patients, promoting individualized, expensive treatment plans. The company's hospitals are not known for being on the cutting edge of major, long-term studies of cancer treatment protocols. But patients and their families —- seeking hope as much as a cure —- don't seem to care, as evidenced by testimonials on the company's Web site.

Most of CTCA's patients are covered by private insurance or, in some cases, by Medicare and a supplemental insurance plan. Very few are covered by Medicaid or have no health insurance. The privately held company had an estimated $95 million in sales in 2007 through its four hospitals in Zion, Ill.; Tulsa, Okla.; Seattle; and Philadelphia. It wants to build a hospital south of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, where it would be accessible to patients throughout the Southeast.

The company is asking the Legislature to create a new category in state regulations —- "destination cancer hospital" —- to separate it from most other hospitals where cancer treatment is routinely performed. It has also promised to provide indigent and charity care services of at least 3 percent of the hospital's annual adjusted gross revenues, just as other hospitals are required to do.

With those changes, and with the support of influential legislators and Gov. Sonny Perdue, it appears the CTCA plans could sail through the session this year, despite the opposition of the state hospital association.

However, business groups are also leery of the company's motives. Georgia Chamber of Commerce President George M. Israel told legislators last week that CTCA wants to "obfuscate" the state health planning process.

"Georgia's existing cancer treatment facilities provide outstanding, first-class service to our state and region —- in fact, to the nation —- and they have invested millions and millions in the very same technologies as CTCA," Israel said. "It is only fair and equitable that all new entrants to this area be subjected to the same procedures as their predecessors."

The company's supporters paint opponents as anti-competition, as if the cost of medical care for something as expensive and individualized as cancer treatment has ever been subject to negotiation or traditional market forces.

As Israel and others have pointed out, with government-funded Medicare and Medicaid covering half the patients in many Georgia hospitals, state health planning regulations play a vital role in controlling costs, not just to taxpayers but to those of us covered by private insurance plans as well.

If Cancer Treatment Centers of America could prove that its services are needed and not available elsewhere, it would have gone through the standard process and broken ground for a new hospital a long time ago. The company shouldn't get any special treatment now.