Certificate of Need blocks Iowans from health care they need

Iowa is ranked last in mental health services in the U.S. and currently has minimal midwife birthing services available. I am an ER nurse and from my point of view our rural communities are suffering from lack of available health care in their communities and the whole state is suffering from the lack of mental health care and birthing centers.

The largest obstacle to bringing these services to Iowans is the requirement for a Certificate of Need from the state Health Facilites Council to open a new health care facility. Often, existing medical institutions will lobby the Health Facilities Council against approving a new or expanded facility as a means of blocking its own competition. That enables those existing health care providers to put their own interests ahead of the interests of Iowans.

Emergency rooms are flooded with psychiatric patients that we are not equipped to handle. This takes resources away from the medical patients that we can help.

Senate File 506 wouldn’t eliminate the Certificate of Need process entirely, but it would improve it to exempt birthing centers and mental health facilities from having to prove need to open a facility. I think the need has been proven already — just look around the streets and watch the news. Iowans deserve better access to mental health and maternity care.

Deborah Rand

Cedar Rapids