Episode 019: The Big CON. Certificate of Need Laws Are Killing Competition. Dr. Gajendra Singh is taking them on in court.
Certificate of Need (CON) laws are commonplace in the United States and affect every patient and physician who lives in one of the 36 states which have them in place. The laws stipulate that you need permission from one a government regulatory board proving a need in your community to open a competitive health care service like ORs, laboratories, imaging centers, or hospitals. Most often, the board deciding whether or not there is a need is comprised or controlled by hospitals or those who have the most to lose from new competition.
My guest, Dr. Gejendra Singh, is a general surgeon specializing in hepatic surgery who decided to open his own imaging center in North Carolina after seeing the exorbitant prices his patients were paying for imaging tests. That's when he learned how difficult it was to provide affordable health care services for his patients because of the arcane CON laws.
CON laws vary from state to state but they are always anti-competitive. As we discuss in this episode, he is not allowed to purchase an MRI but instead must employ the services of a mobile MRI. Unfortunately, because it is mobile it can only be open a few days per week and still needs to move around despite operating solely at his imaging center.
Instead of rolling over, Dr. Singh decided to fight back and instead of trying to change things through the legislature which has been an ineffective route for years (just ask anyone in Michigan). He is joining forces with the Institute of Justice which is a pro-free market law firm that specializes in economic liberty cases.
Dr. Singh is a general surgeon in North Carolina and the owner of Forsyth Imaging Center. He is taking on the certificate of need laws which prevent affordable options for patients.
show notes
Forsyth Imaging Center: This is the imaging center created by Dr. Singh that provides affordable imaging for patients in the Winston-Salem, NC area.
Institute for Justice : This is the free market legal group suing the state of North Carolina and three other states to end CON laws.
Memorial for Andy Larson: This is the donation link to honor Andy's death with the Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys where he blossomed and served as a head chorister.
YouTube for Paradocs: Here you can watch the video of my late son singing his solo on the Paradocs YouTube page.
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