South Carolina took a major step toward patient-centered healthcare with the recent repeal of its outdated Certificate of Need (CON) laws. That reform opened the door for more choice, access, and affordability in our state’s healthcare system. But if we want those gains to last–and grow–we must now address another outdated barrier to competition: non-compete
One of the scariest financial burdens on the average American citizen is their trip to a hospital. Without protections for health care billing transparency, individuals often walk into a hospital to receive help, unaware of the hefty bill that will inevitably hit their mailbox weeks later. Take, for example, the case of Amanda Partee-Manders, a
This afternoon, the South Carolina House of Representatives unanimously passed S.2, the bill to restructure South Carolina’s fragmented health agencies. The legislation takes three siloed behavioral health agencies—the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, and the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services—into one, cohesive Department of Behavioral Health
In the 126th General Assembly, key South Carolina legislators are working to pass S.46, a bill that signals that physician non-compete agreements both interfere with physician-patient relationships and corporatize the practice of medicine. The bill is designed to put an end to medical non-competes. What is a noncompete agreement? A noncompete agreement is a legal
Our friends at the Cicero Institute annually publish an analysis of telehealth laws across the 50 states. Earlier this year, Palmetto Promise released an analysis of improvements needed in South Carolina’s telehealth laws, relying on previous editions of Cicero’s grading system that did not account for the Telehealth and Telemedicine Modernization Act, which was signed
In the 125th General Assembly (2023-24), South Carolina legislators passed a bill separating the behemoth Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC) into separate agencies (Act 60, 2023). Following that much-needed reform, legislators’ efforts turned toward finding comprehensive measures that would streamline health functions across state government. The state had 6 separate agencies that all dealt
In February 2024, the General Assembly passed the SC Telehealth and Telemedicine Modernization Act (“The Act”). This legislation outlined a new definition of “Telehealth” as well as enhanced access to specific controlled substances through telehealth by updating tele-prescribing regulations. The update was careful to preserve necessary safeguards. The Act was a good first step, but
Now that the General Assembly has adjourned sine die, we are taking a look back at the 23 policies Palmetto Promise proposed in the 2023-24 Palmetto Freedom Agenda at the beginning of the legislative session. Did our Freedom Agenda policies make it into law? Or, at the very least, did they start a conversation that
This column by Senior Fellow Dr. Oran Smith originally appeared in The Post and Courier May 19, 2024. Looking back over South Carolina’s civic life, most historians would agree that Carroll Campbell has been among our state’s most effective governors. It was Campbell, a Republican with a General Assembly that was 61% Democratic, who shepherded
On the last day of the legislative session, the crucially important bill to restructure South Carolina’s badly fractured health agencies was stalled due to a last-ditch procedural move. This delay is a disservice to all South Carolinians. Our state health agencies are in dire need of reform. This is a truth leaders have recognized for decades,
