Michael Hamilton is the Heartland Institute research fellow for health care issues and the managing editor of Health Care News. A Hillsdale College graduate and former educator, he has written and edited for a variety of online and print media including The Federalist, PJ Media, WORLD, The Philos Project, Canon & Culture, LifeSiteNews.com, The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation blog Dissident, and Ohio Conservative Review. Michael serves as vice chairman of the board of Forge Leadership Network to help identify, train, and connect America's future statesmen.

Currently hospitals and other health care providers must obtain a special certificate from a state board in order to add even a single bed, much less develop a new wing to accommodate more patients. Current law has removed incentives for existing providers to innovate, make improvements to services, and upgrade their equipment, by shutting potential competitors out of the market. A CON application fee (nonrefundable) alone can cost $45,000. The state’s CON law places rural communities at a medical disadvantage by effectively making it easier for providers in counties with more than 200,000 people to acquire MRI machines than providers in less populous counties.

House Bill 1730 will undergo committee markup this week and (Sexton hopes) head to the House floor for a favorable vote in the next two to three weeks. Read“Tennessee Lawmakers Pursue CON Reform” for the full story.