Certificate of Need Laws are Very Stupid
More government-induced supply restrictions
My latest from Reason. Including a cameo from Wallace!
Certificate of Need Laws are a weird holdover from the 1960s where, in order to open (or expand!) a hospital, you have to go to the government... to prove there’s a need for it. As in, you cannot just open a hospital or buy an MRI machine, you need permission to do so. Lest we waste resources. But also! Existent hospitals (read: competitors) can and do lobby the government during this process against you, showing there’s no need... for competition.
The end result is, like many of the travails afflicting us in the United States, government-induced supply shortage.
Enjoy!
New idea. Libertarian Valentine’s Day cards. Disguised as a certificate of need.
So, now I want to watch the Space Doctors show.