Bill Advancing Healthcare Choice through Curtailing Certificate of Need Advances Through House, Will Now Move to Senate

JACKSON, Mississippi—Yesterday, HB 922, a bill sponsored by Rep. Henry Zuber III that would significantly curtail the impact of Certificate of Need (CON) laws in Mississippi, overwhelmingly passed through the House by a floor vote of 107- 5. With successful passage, the bill’s next stop will be to the Senate for committee consideration before a final vote by the Senate.

CONs are government-mandated permission slips required to build new healthcare facilities or expand existing ones. These laws often grant existing healthcare providers the ability to influence decisions on new facility approvals, effectively giving them veto power to block potential competitors.

 HB 922, if passed, would end these onerous requirements for several categories of healthcare services including addiction services and facilities, intermediate care facilities, MRI services, and psychiatric residential treatment facilities.  

“CONs restrict choice, affect quality of care, and create bottlenecks for all Mississippians seeking healthcare,” said Institute for Justice Legislative Counsel Alasdair Whitney. “The Institute for Justice supports this bill, and we look forward to the day when everyone can enjoy the freedom of choice in healthcare they deserve.”

The Institute for Justice (IJ) has long been involved in litigating and providing legislative support for ending CON across the country.

Nationwide, CON laws exist in 35 states and the District of Columbia but there has been a national effort in recent years to remove these burdens that create governmental bottlenecks preventing construction of new or expansion of current healthcare facilities. Since 2021, 28 states have enacted reforms altering their CON laws in some capacity.

IJ’s research has shown that CON laws have increased spending and decreased access to care even though they were conceived with the goal of controlling healthcare costs and increasing access to care. Unsurprisingly, states with CON laws have higher healthcare costs and fewer medical services per capita. The overwhelming evidence, including the unwavering opinion of the federal government for more than three decades, has demonstrated that CON laws are a policy failure.

 IJ’s research has also shown how CON laws can cause significant delays in building new facilities or expanding current ones even if approved. Research shows how the CON application process in Mississippi typically takes five months, or even longer if a hearing is requested.

IJ is a national leader in CON policy and has litigated numerous cases challenging CON laws in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Nebraska. IJ also has published research showing how CON restricts access and increases costs.

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To arrange interviews on this subject, journalists may contact Phillip Suderman, IJ’s Communications Project Manager, at [email protected] or (850) 376-4110. More information on the subject is available at: https://ij.org/report/conning-the-competition/