Show Me Better: Assessing Certificate Of Need In Missouri

One of the most obvious examples of a massive government burden on our health care system is the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), but Obamacare does not have a monopoly on onerous government regulations in Missouri. In fact, some state-run regulatory programs, such as certificate of need (CON), may also play a role in increasing the cost of care and decreasing access to care for some of the state’s neediest patients.

A certificate of need is a legal document the state issues to allow a health care provider to expand, modify, or construct certain health care facilities. In Missouri, a nine-member committee reviews applications for certificates of need and administers them in accordance with its own rules. For example, last year, the Lafayette Health Center received a CON to construct a new $40 million hospital. Based on the committee’s rules, Lafayette likely paid the review committee a hefty $40,000 application fee.

One of the original purposes of the program was to guarantee health care access by limiting competition in a particular region. Proponents assert that, with less competition, the likelihood of a hospital going out of business will be reduced, hopefully ensuring a sufficient level of care for citizens near the health care provider. Yet, empirical evidence suggests that CON programs neither control costs nor improve health outcomes. Indeed, they may actually hamper access to care and patient choice, at least under some circumstances.

If the certificate of need law could be hurting the people it was intended to help, should it be reformed? Abandoned? These questions are central to why we, as Missourians, ought to take a serious look at the necessity and efficacy of the state’s CON program. In future posts, I will review how CON regulations impact health care costs, access to care, and clinical outcomes.