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#004 <br />EXPERIMENT Policy Briefing <br />OCTOBER 2021 <br />American Experi ment.org <br />Minnesota must lift its hospital <br />moratorium <br />STATE POLICYMAKERS SHOULD: <br />• Abolish Minnesota's hospital construction <br />• <br />moratorium <br />• <br />......................................... <br />On March 25, 2020, Governor Tim Walz an- <br />nounced a state-wide stay-at-home order running <br />from March 27to April 10.This was necessary, <br />he said, because Minnesota's 235 adult Intensive <br />Care Unit (ICU) beds were on course to be full six <br />weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Delta <br />Variant of COVID-19 surged in the summer of <br />2021, it was reported that Minnesota once again <br />came close to maxing out its ICU capacity. <br />............................. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />...................................................... <br />One reason for this shortage is Minnesota state <br />law itself. Until 1984, the state operated what were <br />called Certificate of Need (CON) laws for hospitals. <br />These require government permission before a fa- <br />cility can expand, offer a new service, or purchase <br />certain pieces of equipment. That year, Minnesota <br />replaced its CON laws with a hospital construction <br />moratorium, which works in a very similar, but <br />even more restrictive, way. As Figure 1 shows, 35 <br />