It's time to put an end to certificate of need!

It’s time to increase healthcare access and reduce the cost of healthcare in Alaska. It’s time to put an end to certificate-of-need (CON) laws. I urge you to vote YES on SB 26. 

The Federal Trade Commission (under the Trump, Obama, and Bush administrations) has urged states to end CON laws, citing the fact that they are anticompetitive and fail to provide any meaningful benefit or protection to health care consumers. This includes a letter sent by the FTC to the Alaska Senate in 2019 regarding the same legislative language contained in SB 26. 

It's not just the federal government that has found CON laws to be harmful, however. Independent research has shown that states with CON laws still on the books have more expensive health care, less access, and worse health outcomes than states that have opted to repeal their CON requirements. These laws also fail to improve access to care for low-income individuals – an often-touted reason for keeping CON laws on the books. It is estimated that Alaska would have 11 additional hospitals, including 8 additional rural hospitals, if it did not have CON regulation. This additional capacity would have been of great help throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen hospitals running over capacity and unable to provide a full range of medical procedures to patients.

Prohibiting health care facilities from opening in rural and under-served areas prevents families from accessing lifesaving treatments in a timely manner. Hospital statistics compiled by the Mercatus Center show individuals suffering from pneumonia, heart attacks, and heart failures suffer higher mortality rates in states with CON barriers as a result of these restrictions.

I urge you to vote yes on SB 26, to repeal Certificate of Need. Alaskans cannot afford to wait.