Patients in North Carolina and prospective new health care entrepreneurs notched an initial victory in Singh vs. NCDHHS. Dr. Gajendra Singh of Forsyth County is challenging the state’s certificate of need laws. A press release from the Institute for Justice elaborates:
Today, a state superior court judge denied the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ motion to dismiss a constitutional challenge to a law that bans medical providers from purchasing an MRI scanner without first obtaining special permission—called a “certificate of need,” or CON—from the government. The court cleared the way for the case to proceed, in a first-round victory for Dr. Gajendra Singh who is represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ).
While the case still has a long way to go to free North Carolianins from the bureaucratic stranglehold CON laws impose on providers, this initial ruling against the state’s motion to dismiss is welcome news.
I wrote about Dr. Singh’s case in a previous research update. The John Locke Foundation has also filed an amicus brief on behalf of Dr. Singh. Read more about why certificate of need laws are harmful to all North Carolinians here.
