WYATT EMMERICH: I wouldn’t be opposed to seeingthe CON go
With more than a million pages of local, state and federal laws and regulations in this country, I’m not sure it’s a good thing our Legislature is busy passing new laws.
One step in the right direction comes from Republican state Rep. Mark Baker of Brandon. He proposes to repeal Mississippi’s Certificate of Need, law which restricts hospitals and clinics from opening.
Mississippi’s CON law was passed in 1974 when the federal government required it. By 1987, the feds realized it was a bad law and since then 14 states, including Texas, have repealed it. Not Mississippi.
Since the CON laws were passed we have seen exactly what would be predicted — high prices and scarcity.
Trying to open a new hospital or clinic in Mississippi means years and years of expensive CON litigation. How does that help our state? It is time to repeal this misguided law.
Sunherald
2/21/14
