Senate Bill 5920 addresses a need for vulnerable people and highlights how Certificate of Need laws harm Washingtonians. If it passes, it would lift the Certificate of Need (CON) required by the state to add psychiatric hospitals and beds in Washington state. A CON requirement is a costly, time-consuming permission slip from the government, influenced by players in the current health care market.

Experts say a minimum of 50 public psychiatric beds are needed for every 100,000 people. Washington state fails to meet that standard — by a long shot. A study from the Treatment Advocacy Center shows that the state had just 13.3 beds per 100,000 people in 2023. The need for more beds is clear, and our state's CON law is an unnecessary barrier getting in the way. 

Federal and state officials originally passed CON laws to control the number of health care facilities in a specific area, avoid duplicative services and hopefully help control health care costs. But states with CON laws have higher health care costs and fewer medical services per capita. An overwhelming body of evidence shows that CON laws are a complete policy failure.

Congress wised up and repealed its CON law decades ago, as have a dozen states since. Washington is not among those states. 

California, Texas and the other states that have gotten rid of CON laws have not witnessed the dangers predicted by those who benefit from Certificate of Need laws. And states with remaining CON laws continue to deprive patients access to health care choices. They deprive some patients access period. They also restrict normal competition that can help with health care cost containment.

The anti-competitive, access-harming nature of a CON law on a vulnerable population is completely misguided — especially in a state where leading lawmakers stress that behavioral health is a legislative priority. 

The state should go after full repeal of CON law, but lifting the Certificate of Need even partially is a good step toward solving a problem the state has contributed to. The need for more psychiatric beds in a state that cares about behavioral health should make this idea a no-brainer.

A hearing for the bill takes place in front of the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee on January 18 at 10:30 a.m.