The following is testimony submitted for presentation to the House Health Policy Committee by the Mackinac Center’s Greg George on October 14, 2021.

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s mission is to advance liberty and opportunity for all people through research and education. Regarding health policy, this means finding thoughtful approaches that address health care access, quality, and affordability concerns that put patients first and seek to provide practitioners with more autonomy. Bringing more transparency to Michigan’s certificate-of-need (CON) law is one such opportunity.

Collectively, House Bills 5074, 5075, 5076, and 5077 will increase transparency by requiring that the public have access to the CON commission’s meeting materials and reports in a timely fashion.

Additionally, a joint committee of the legislature—which has been in statute since 2002 but has never met—would be required to meet annually to oversee the commission and provide a review of the commission’s activities. The committee would also examine the impact that the CON commission has on Michigan’s health care market.

Michigan law requires health care facilities and providers to obtain permission from the CON commission before establishing or expanding vital health care services. These CON laws have a significant impact on health care costs, access, and quality.

Requiring elected officials to review the commission’s actions regularly brings patients to the table about the future of their health care.

Greg George is the director of legislative affairs at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.