Alaska's CON Law: Lessons from Three Decades of Research

Matthew Mitchell testified before the Health and Social Services Committee of the Alaska State Senate at its March 27th meeting. In his presentation he explained that research shows that certificate-of-need (CON) laws have worked largely as economic theory predicts. They have limited access to healthcare, especially in rural communities, and failed to achieve their stated goal of cost reduction. There is also evidence that CON laws are associated with lower-quality care and have failed to encourage hospital substitutes.