The relationship between certificate of need laws and healthcare costs
Certificate of need (CON) laws are state regulations that require healthcare providers to obtain approval from a state board before they can offer new services, expand facilities, or invest in technology. The original purpose of these laws was to control healthcare costs, improve quality, and increase access to care for underserved populations. However, a systematic review and cost-effectiveness analysis of the literature found that CON laws have mixed effects on these outcomes, and may even increase health expenditures and overall mortality . Moreover, a study by the Mercatus Center showed that states with CON laws had 11 percent higher healthcare costs than states without those laws . Additionally, a report by the State Policy Network argued that CON laws harm patients and taxpayers by limiting competition, innovation, and choice in the healthcare market . Therefore, the relationship between CON laws and healthcare costs is not clear-cut, and may depend on various factors such as the type, number, and enforcement of CON regulations in each state.
: Conover CJ, Bailey J. Certificate of need laws: a systematic review and cost-effectiveness analysis. BMC Health Serv Res. 2020;20(1):748. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05563-1
: Mitchell MD. help write my research paper on Certificate-of-Need Laws: How They Affect Healthcare Access, Quality, and Cost. Mercatus Center. 2021. https://www.mercatus.org/economic-insights/features/certificate-need-laws-how-they-affect-healthcare-access-quality-and-cost
: Certificate-of-need laws: Why they exist and who they hurt. State Policy Network. 2021. https://spn.org/articles/certificate-of-need-laws/
