37th Annual Student Research Conference
CON-ned Out of Healthcare? The Effects of Certificate of Need Laws on Access to Rural Primary Care
Lauren H. Frazier
Dr. David Gillette, Faculty Mentor
Certificate of need (CON) laws are state-issued licenses to open healthcare facilities. Originally implemented to reduce wasteful capital investment in healthcare, many studies find that CON laws limit patient access and drive up costs. The current literature has yet to explore the effects of CON laws on rural areas lacking access to primary care. I hypothesize that the presence of CON laws in a state will positively correlate with the rate of primary care physicians per capita. I regress primary physicians per capita on the presence or absence of CON laws in the county’s state and the county’s rural status. I controlled for factors that affect access to and utilization rates of healthcare, including the age, racial makeup, median income, and education in the county. I found that CON laws and rural status had no significant effect on the rate of primary care providers per capita in a county.
Keywords: health policy, health law, economics, certificate of need, rural, primary care, health access, licensing law
Topic(s):Economics
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 103-1
Location: SUB Georgian Room B
Time: 9:15