In West Virginia, outdated, centralized, and unnecessary Certificate-of-Need laws (CON) are standing in the way of keeping our families, friends, and neighbors healthy. Under CON laws, our state’s trusted health care providers cannot provide new health services in their communities without a permission slip from unelected government bureaucrats and, typically, their competitors.
In states with CON laws, competitors of a healthcare provider seeking to offer more services to West Virginians are given the opportunity to object to the certificate application. This “competitors’ veto” has no place in a free-market economy.
This might seem like a strange requirement for a state in which 53 of its 55 counties suffer health care shortages.
House Bill 2264 would empower hospitals throughout the state to supply new services, including emergency care, without going through the state’s overly burdensome Certificate of Need (CON) process.
Urge your lawmakers to dramatically expand access to lifesaving care to patients in need and support HB 2264!