We want to help you find out if bad healthcare laws in your state are making your difficult situation even more challenging. Tell us your story.

Do you care for an ailing parent or loved one? Are you frustrated that you cannot find a convenient healthcare provider that can meet your unique needs?

COVID-19 highlighted weaknesses in our medical care system, that extend beyond the demands of mitigating the disease. States must do everything in their power to increase the supply of healthcare.

But many states have laws on the books that intentionally limit the supply of medical care, and for no good reason. These laws are called “Certificates of Need,: also known as CON laws, and 37 states have varying versions of them.

Patients who live in CON jurisdictions suffer from higher costs, decreased quality of services, and fewer options for treatment. Per capita, these patients have access to fewer hospitals, hospital beds, surgery centers, and hospice facilities.

Here’s how they work. If your local hospital wants to increase its number of hospital beds, a CON law may require it to ask the state if it’s allowed to add those beds. It works like a permission slip. But a nearby existing medical provider can tell the state, “you should deny their request,” in order to protect themselves from competition; and the state will deny the hospital’s request to expand, thereby denying your community more care.

Millions of Americans are victims of CON laws. It is possible that if you are unable to access adequate healthcare for yourself or a loved one, you are being affected by CONs. The Institute for Justice is working hard to get rid of these harmful and unnecessary laws.

We want to help you figure out if CON laws are making your difficult situation even worse. Tell us your story.

  • CON laws restrict access to care in so many ways. They can prevent hospitals from adding additional ICU beds, while others stop doctors who want to perform outpatient surgery. Some stop new transportation companies from helping patients get to medical appointments, while others block the construction of new facilities or prohibit potential home health agencies from caring for vulnerable populations in their homes. Tell us your story and we can help you find out if CON laws are making your difficult situation even worse.