Delaware's CON law limits the expansion of medical facilities such as MRI/CT scan providers, nursing homes, surgicenters, and hospitals in Delaware.
The process of Delaware’s CON law is anti-competitive and does not let the market work efficiently. If there is a market for a profitable health care service, then providers that offer the lowest cost with the highest quality will gain the demographics that are needed in that area.
The current process is riddled with political gain, high costs—both monetary and in time—and finally, wrong economic foundations on the supply curve. It should be then the natural conclusion in the State of Delaware that there should be a repeal of the Certificate of Public Review law.
Please support the repeal of Delaware's CON law by contacting this group of legislators and have your voice heard: Joint Legislative Oversight & Sunset Committee (JLOSC).
The Sunset Committee had a virtual meeting on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. They discussed recommendations for a new Advisory Board to replace the existing Health Resources Board. A recording of this meeting can be viewed by clicking below.
By Betsy Price
Delaware Live published on April 27, 2021.
By Ken Mammarella
Contributing Writer. Published by Delaware Business Times on September 29, 2020.
By Dr. Christopher Casscells and Dr. Stacie Beck
Published by Delaware Online on March 6, 2020.
The Mercatus Study gives some insight into what is likely to happen in Delaware without CON laws.
Fellows, Matthew D. Mitchell and Christopher Koopman, cited that in the State of Delaware, there would be a $270 saving on total health care per capita and $99 savings in physician spending per capita without the CON law. (With approximately one million residents in Delaware, this would equate to a $270 million saving on total health care and a $99 million savings in spending on physicians.)
This memorandum is a discussion about the Certificate of Need (CON) process in the State of Delaware, its impacts on the health care market, and a meta-analysis about the effectiveness of the CON process.
The memorandum also sets out recommendations and conclusions based on the evidence collected and analyzed. If customers can’t find it, it doesn’t exist. Clearly list and describe the services you offer. Also, be sure to showcase a premium service. (Date: June 19, 2019. 18 pages. Authored by: Justin Chan. Cc'd Dr. John Stapleford, Dr. Stacie Beck.)
Costs in any market, including health care, are reduced by raising productivity. The best way to achieve this is to release the forces of competition inherent in free markets. Proposed reforms of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) seek to do this on the demand side by incentivizing patients/consumers to shop for the best and lowest-priced care via, i.e., health savings accounts (HSAs) and cross-state-border sales of health insurance.
However, less attention has been paid to supply-side reforms. When suppliers in any market are protected from competition, they can charge higher prices. They are also less efficient, adopt cost-saving technology more slowly and provide lower-quality services. Thus, the project of freeing the demand side is likely to backfire unless the supply side is also freed. A certificate-of-need program is an anti-competitive supply-side barrier under state control. (Stacie Beck, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Delaware | 12/21/2018)