Governor McMaster Ceremonial CON Repeal Signing

Last week in the Statehouse, Governor Henry McMaster held a ceremonial bill signing for the legislation repealing South Carolina’s Certificate of Need (CON) statute. Palmetto Promise Institute President Wendy Damron and PPI Senior Fellow Dr. Oran Smith (far left of the photo above) were on hand for the occasion.

In his remarks, Governor McMaster was singing our song, focusing on people, and the role that the policy change can have on the lives of Palmetto State citizens.

As we have written before, and has been written about the bill, taking down CON will have significance far beyond the healthcare sphere. South Carolina is becoming a free-market conservative state, not just a traditional conservative state. The new question around the Statehouse is: “What policy will provide a free market solution?” rather than “What policy will preserve the status quo?”

“How we have always done it” is no longer the default position.

That’s good news for the entire 2023-24 Freedom Agenda!

For a deeper dive on Certificate of Need repeal, we recommend this news report and our legacy Certificate of Need Resource Center.