FTC: Florida hospital certificate of need rule hurts competition

The Federal Trade Commission said it supports a bill that would eliminate Florida's certificate of need requirements for hospital construction. In written testimony to the state Senate, the FTC said certificates of need can be detrimental to competition and healthcare consumers. Florida's current CON law "places significant regulatory burdens on the development or improvement of a very broad class of healthcare facilities that otherwise might develop dynamically in response to market needs," according to the FTC statement.