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Dear Jack,

What a dismal legislative session it’s been so far.

School choice? Killed by Senate leadership without even a proper debate. The ballot initiative reform? Same story. And if that weren't enough, Governor Reeves just had to veto a bill that was sent to him since it apparently had improper revisions tacked on.

Some of our lawmakers, it turns out, struggle with the process of making law.

But there’s one ray of sunshine from this session: Mississippi is chipping away at the red tape that has been strangling our healthcare economy.

For decades, Mississippi has required hospitals and healthcare providers to get government permission - a "Certificate of Need," or CON - before they can open new facilities, add beds, or even buy equipment above a certain price. The aim was to keep healthcare costs down, but it didn't work.

Congress itself scrapped the federal program within a decade. Fifteen other states have abolished their CON laws entirely. But ours has remained and is one of the most restrictive in the country.

In practice, CON laws allow existing providers to block competitors. Less competition means higher prices and fewer choices for patients. It's a racket dressed up as regulation, and MCPP has been part of a coalition fighting to repeal it.

Two bills - HB3 and HB1622 - passed this session, and they matter.

HB3 raises the spending thresholds that trigger CON review, in some cases doubling them. That means providers can now upgrade equipment and improve facilities without first asking the state's permission. It directs the Department of Health to study exempting small hospitals from CON rules for dialysis and psychiatric services.

HB1622 arguably goes further. It creates a pilot programme giving small and rural hospitals real CON exemptions - no state approval needed - for a range of services on their campuses and nearby. Hospitals in the Delta, one of the most medically underserved regions in the entire country, get up to two exemptions each.

Good news for kidney dialysis treatment. HB 1622 specifically allows up to eight new dialysis facilities to be licensed at small rural hospitals, with those decisions final and unchallengeable, which is huge news for the Delta.

But the single most exciting thing in HB1622 is a simple rule change: if a competitor files an appeal to block a CON approval and loses, they now have to pay the winner's legal costs. That might not sound dramatic, but it's a big deal. For years, this served as a deterrent against challenges.

We are a long way from the full repeal of CON that is required, but these two bills show that the legislative strategy to achieve repeal is viable and it is working.

If you want to read a recent research paper we published on the implications of these two new laws, please click on the link below:
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Clink above to read the publication
The dam hasn't broken yet. But it has cracked.

Thank you for your continued support. We'll keep pushing.
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Warm regards,
Douglas Carswell
President & CEO

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