Health care providers and facilities issue brief: certificate of need: year end report-2004.

At one time, every state was required by the federal government to have a certificate of need (CON) program. The process was intended to keep down costs associated with the construction of new health facilities in the state, and prevent over development. When the federal requirement was lifted, however, a number of states did away with their programs. Some later restored them in some form, and many have kept their programs alive for years, requiring a governmental seal of approval for building new facilities such as hospitals and long-term care facilities or for acquiring major medical equipment.