Summary: In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on health care capital construction activity by state, grouped by the regulating mechanisms they used, specifically: (1) certificates-of-need (CON); (2) section 1122 review programs; and (3) construction moratoria.
GAO found that: (1) since 1982, Arizona and Utah have eliminated their programs for prior approval of health facility construction without imposing a moratorium on construction; (2) health facility construction activity in Utah increased from $19 million in 1984 to $39 million in 1985 after it eliminated the approval program; (3) no clear pattern of changes in construction activity was apparent in Arizona; (4) 31 states and the District of Columbia use the CON program, which requires that they acquire CON before they begin construction of a health care facility; (5) 4 states use section 1122 review programs; (6) 11 states use both the CON and 1122 programs; and (7) of the 4 states that used neither program, only 2 imposed a moratorium on construction.
