FTC, DOJ recommend end of CON programs

Healthcare Financial Management, Sept, 2004

States should reconsider whether certificate of need (CON) programs best serve their citizens' healthcare needs, according to a joint report released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ). The FTC and DO] stated that CON programs are not successful in containing healthcare costs and that they pose anticompetitive risks that usually outweigh their purported economic benefits.

In a two-year project, the FTC and DOJ reviewed the role of competition and recommended how to "improve the balance between competition and regulation in health care." The report also addresses a wide range of topics, including consumer-driven health care, hospital mergers, quality ratings of hospitals and physicians, pay-for-performance mechanisms for healthcare services, mandated benefits, licensure, allied health professionals, pharmaceutical pricing, pharmaceutical benefit managers, single-specialty hospitals, buying power in healthcare markets, and clinical and financial integration.

To read an executive summary of the FTC/DOJ report, "Improving Health Care: A Dose of Competition," go to www.ftc.gov/reports/ healthcare/040723healthcarerpt.pdf.