If Florida's governor gets his way, the state will repeal its certificate-of-need rules for acute-care hospitals. Governor Charlie Crist (R) included a proposal to eliminate CON rules in his fiscal 2009 budget, arguing that such a move would "increase competition and efficiency in the healthcare marketplace." The idea seems to be popular beyond the governor's mansion; the state's Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees the CON process there, made a similar proposal late last year.

At the moment, the perennial debate over the value of CON rules seems to be heating up again, if early anecdotal evidence is any indication. A recent study by an Alabama policy think-tank notes that 13 states have recently repealed CON regs, and it seems that the pressure is on to do so elsewhere.

To learn more about this issue:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece [1] (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
AL study questions need for CON process. Article [2]
GA physicians battle for looser ASC regs. Report [3]
GA to revamp CON system. Report [4]