Certificate of need laws are hurting Alaska in more ways than one, according to The Heartland Institute's analysis.
Here's what you should know:
1. While CON laws are restrictive by nature, Alaska's geographical location is hurting access to care and driving up costs because of the monopolistic tendency of the state's healthcare setting.
2. A state bill was introduced in 2017 to repeal the state's CON laws, but it failed. The bill could be reintroduced in 2019.
3. If the state's CON laws are eliminated, The Heartland Institute believes access to and quality of care would improve. Costs are estimated to drop by $294 per person and new developments could follow.
4. A Mercatus Center analysis suggested if the state didn't have CON laws, Alaska would have three new ASCs and seven new rural hospitals.
5. The FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division both encouraged Alaska to repeal its CON laws.