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Access to quality healthcare close to home is important for all Georgians. And while access to care has always been difficult for rural Georgians, it’s recently become an urban concern as well, with the closure of two Wellstar hospitals in Fulton County in 2022.
Unfortunately, as health systems across the state consolidate and acquire independent physician practices, Georgia continues to maintain a regulatory system that exacerbates the problem by protecting these systems against most competition: certificate of need (CON) laws. Earlier this year, the Georgia legislature sought to address this issue. Despite adjourning for the year without any resolution on this contentious policy debate, both chambers formed study committees to further examine the issue.
In a new study, we examine the economic and political arguments for and against CON. Our hope is that this research will provide a path forward for lawmakers to repeal a law that currently prevents lower-cost and higher-quality healthcare options in both rural and urban Georgia.
How CON laws limit healthcare access in Georgia
Friday’s Freshest
Georgia Public Policy Foundation releases new report on CON regulations
The report provides a summary of the existing research on Certificate of Need regulations, offers new data as states modernize their existing laws, and provides a pathway for Georgia policymakers by dispelling misconceptions often cited in defense of CON.
Is it a correction or a reckoning?
Georgia net tax revenues for March declined by almost $83 million, or about 3%, compared to March 2022. Significantly, collections from the personal income tax fell by $400 million. The question is whether this is a correction or a reckoning.
Georgia to eliminate barriers to work in state government
Barriers to work are coming down across the country, and Georgia is no exception. Georgia lawmakers joined leaders in other states, as well as in the private sector, in recognizing that some jobs that require a four-year degree… might not actually require a four-year degree.
Georgia taxpayers lost money to Obamacare, the American Rescue Plan and unemployment fraud
Our latest review of waste, fraud or abuse of taxpayer money or taxpayer-funded resources throughout Georgia.
Regulations increase cost of multifamily housing by over 23%
While regulation is not the sole driver of multifamily costs and housing in general, it is one area that policymakers can directly address.
The Latest
Economy
Annual Registration Season sees increase of 29,000 corporate filings
Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger announced a record-breaking Annual Registration Season for the Corporations Division of the Secretary of State’s Office. The Annual Registration Season, which runs from January 1 – April 1, concluded with over 784,000 annual registration filings, marking an increase of more than 29,000 filings over last year’s filing period.
Georgia could develop statewide electric vehicle manufacturing program
During the latest state legislative session, the Georgia House passed a measure that proponents say will “advance” the state’s electric vehicle industry. The move comes after state officials gave millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded incentives to various EV projects.
Education
Georgia’s university system extends waiver of test requirements at most institutions
The University System of Georgia will waive SAT and ACT test requirements at most of the system’s 26 institutions for another academic year. The waiver will apply to all of the system’s colleges and universities except the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia College & State University.
Enrollment continues to decline at Georgia’s universities
Student enrollment is continuing to decline at the University System of Georgia. Overall enrollment for the spring semester at the system’s 26 institutions fell to 311,484, down 0.9% from last spring.
Government accountability
Georgia ranks 12th in new economic rankings of states
Georgia ranks 12th in the new analysis of states’ economic performance. The American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index” for 2023 is based on the equal weighting of a state’s rank in 15 policy variables “influenced directly by state lawmakers through the legislative process.”
Public right to fish saved in final seconds of General Assembly session
Georgians’ right to fish in navigable portions of the state’s rivers and streams was safeguarded in the final seconds of this year’s legislative session. The General Assembly passed a bill on the last night of the 2023 session late last month that secures the public’s right to fish “even where private title … originates from a valid grant.”
Housing
Home prices see biggest annual drop in over a decade
Home prices in March saw the biggest annual drop since 2012 as pending home sales continue to abate, according to a new report. Last month, median U.S. home prices dropped by 3.3% to $400,528, according to real estate brokerage Redfin.
Housing moratorium in Hart County impacts new development
The ongoing moratorium’s effect on plans for a potential apartment complex in Hartwell claimed much of the discussion during a recent Hart County Board of Commissioners’ meeting. A developer hopes to build a 56-unit apartment complex, but the county’s moratorium on multi-family housing developments stands in the way. The moratorium on new construction, which has been in place since July 27, 2021, now spans over 600 days.
Quotes of the Week
“We must remember that the shortest distance between our problems and their solutions is the distance between our knees and the floor.” – Dr. Charles Stanley, 1932-2023
“Money is Money, and Paper is Paper. All the invention of man cannot make it otherwise.” – Thomas Paine
“You do it for yourself. You don’t expect to change the world. You don’t even expect to influence your family or friends. You do it because you can’t not do it and be who you are. Or who you’re meant to be.” – Martin Sheen