Governments, seemingly eager to supply their critics with ammunition, constantly validate historian Robert Conquest: The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies. Consider North Carolina’s intervention in the medical-devices market.
Born in India, Dr. Gajendra Singh is a U.S. citizen and a surgeon in Winston-Salem who wants to supply something useful for which there is a strong demand. North Carolina’s government is, however, an impediment to his doing so.
Singh runs a medical diagnostic imaging center where patients can get X-rays, echo-cardiograms, ultrasounds and CT scans. It cannot, however, be a full-service center without an MRI machine, and local hospitals offering MRIs are averse to competition.
Americans with high-deductible insurance plans, which are increasingly prevalent, especially need low-cost diagnostic services. The median Winston-Salem household income is about $40,000. The average MRI scan at a North Carolina hospital costs $2,000. Singh charges $500-$700 for the MRIs he does using rental machines that the state’s harassing law requires to be moved once a week. Singh wants to buy an MRI machine. North Carolina, however, has a “certificate of need,” or CON, law, requiring Singh to prove to the Soviet-style central planners in the state government that Singh’s area needs another machine.