State legislators have until Nov. 7 to issue a joint resolution that would supersede a decision by the Michigan Certificate of Need (CON) Commission restricting access to a potentially life-saving treatment.
Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the CAR-T treatment can modify T-cells found in the body so that they eradicate cancer cells. Nearly three dozen states have CON laws, which mandate that health providers get the state’s permission before they can adapt their practices to accommodate new technologies or treatments.
The provider’s competitors are given the opportunity to object, which has resulted in limited access and poorer patient outcomes in many cases, according to a report in Michigan Capitol Confidential.
CON laws came about in the 1970s as the federal government required them in order to provide certain federal funds. Although Congress overturned that mandate a decade later, prompting at least 15 states to repeal their CON laws, Michigan’s statute remains among the nation’s most restrictive, due mainly to pressure from the state’s large hospitals.
Alerts Sign-up