Tiwari v. Friedlander asks: Is depriving patients of medical services rational?

Commonplace in the market for medical services, certificate-of-need  laws prohibit medical providers from practicing or expanding unless they can demonstrate not only “need” for their proposed services but also survive a bureaucratic gauntlet that can take years, cost thousands of dollars, and allow competitors — existing and potential — to challenge the application. The result…

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303 Creative LLC v. Elenis asks whether artists can be compelled to speak

Public accommodations laws help ensure a free and open economy. Traditionally, these laws have been applied to, well, public accommodations, such as hotels, or “what the old common law promised to any member of the public wanting a meal at the inn, that accepting the usual terms of service, they will not be turned away…

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New Report Analyzes Civil Asset Forfeiture Data in Kansas

Today, Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF), a national nonprofit that educates Americans about the benefits of a free and open society, released a report on civil asset forfeiture activities in Kansas. Kansas’ civil asset forfeiture laws allow law enforcement to seize and keep people’s money and property if law enforcement suspects it is connected to criminal…

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Kennedy v. Bremerton School District shows why a high school football coach’s prayer may be important for academic freedom

Government employs a veritable army of teachers, professors, graduate students, undergraduate work-study students, as well as coaches, teachers’ aides, tutors, and administrators. To what degree can government, as an employer, punish the people it hires for their own personal expression? That’s a live question. The First Amendment protects citizens from the government. The government doesn’t…

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Can calling an artist a “monopoly of one” displace the First Amendment?

Public accommodations laws “help ensure a free and open economy.” Traditionally, public accommodations laws have been applied to, well, public accommodations, such as hotels, or “what the old common law promised to any member of the public wanting a meal at the inn, that accepting the usual terms of service, they will not be turned…

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New investigation reveals true cost of certificate of need laws to patients

Certificate-of-need laws result in higher health care costs, reduced access to important medical services, and worse patient outcomes, according to a new report from Americans for Prosperity Foundation. In Virginia, South Carolina, Michigan, and Iowa, the four states in which the effects of CON restrictions are covered in Permission to care: How certificate of need laws harm patients and stifle…

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A new report shows how little-understood laws are hurting patients

Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia have laws on the books that make quality, affordable health care more difficult to access. These restrictions, called certificate-of-need laws, prevent hospitals and other providers from making necessary investments in their services, equipment, and facilities without government permission. While CON laws are intended to ensure that providers don’t…

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