Improve Health Care Access in West Virginia

West Virginians want health care that we can trust. That’s why I’m writing to you today: to urge you to repeal Certificate of Need (CoN) in favor of a personal health care option. This is the right first step toward expanding health care for all. 

We need legislative action to permanently remove the red tape standing in the way of our ability to make our own decisions. As a strong supporter of expanding access to high-quality and affordable health care, I encourage you to take actions that would directly benefit your constituents. 

Certificate of need laws have served only to reduce the availability of essential health care choices, increase medical costs and lower the quality of care. CON has prevented 27 new hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers from opening in West Virginia. A report from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University found that “there are 30% fewer total hospitals per capita in states with a certificate of need program when compared to those that do not have a certificate of need program.”

By eliminating Certificate of Need laws, you can empower our hospitals to expand existing or offer new services and emergency care without requiring permission from government bureaucrats and would-be competitors. 

We know this works because in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic Governors around the country were quick to suspend CON requirements. These actions dramatically expanded access to lifesaving care for patients who needed it. 

Thank you for giving West Virginians more choice and more control over our health care. This is the single most transformative step lawmakers in the Mountain State can take to transform health care.