Massachusetts’ certificate-of-need law is allegedly forcing referrers to recommend patients cross state lines to access affordable radiology services, Radiology Business reported Oct. 13.
Amy Boutwell, MD, a private practice internist in Lexington, Mass., told Valley News Oct. 11 that she recently needed to send a patient for follow-up imaging, but the nearest hospital and medical center had a five-month waitlist for an exam.
In her search for an independent imaging center, Dr. Boutwell found only one facility that was 30 miles away in Nashua, N.H. Despite being in another state, this facility had appointments for the next day and at a lower cost.
“I just thought, how’s it possible here in the medical mecca of the world, I don’t have an independent imaging center? And I didn’t really know why,” Boutwell said, referring to the high concentration of healthcare institutions in the Boston area.
The Valley News article cites Massachusetts’ certificate-of-need laws as the reason for the lack of access to a nearby imaging center. CON laws require healthcare providers to obtain state approval before building a new healthcare facility, including imaging centers, or to acquire new equipment such as an MRI machine.
New Hampshire is the only state in New England that does not have CON laws, according to the report. Another physician, Jeffery Gold, MD, a primary care physician, has also been referring patients across state lines to receive care, he told Radiology Business.
Mr. Gold said that CON laws have constrained the market in Massachusetts, with legacy institutions in the area having imaging services and therefore blocking new providers looking to provide the same services.
