Trump spurs states to dump laws regulating new hospitals

The Trump administration is using money to push states away from certificate of need laws, which require state sign-off before new hospitals or other health facilities are built or expanded. Of the $50 billion in the Rural Health Transformation Program, part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, $25 billion depends on factors including policy commitments, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said applicants with fewer such rules would score higher. Six states signaled in their applications that they would revisit their laws, according to CBS News.

Tennessee has moved furthest, with lawmakers passing a bipartisan bill in April that phases out most remaining requirements over four years. Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa and Mississippi have said they would consider following. South Carolina will stop requiring approval for hospital construction or expansion in January, keeping it only for nursing homes.

Critics say the laws, meant to check monopolies, inflated prices and delayed facilities. Maureen Hensley-Quinn of the National Academy for State Health Policy cautions that repeal erodes states' records on hospital ownership, including private equity arrangements. Martin Chaney, who leads Maury Regional Health, opposed repeal in Tennessee, warning of higher costs.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News →