HARRY HUGHES, Governor                        1241

CHAPTER 102

(Senate Bill 494)

AN ACT concerning

Health Care Cost Containment - Moratorium -
Certificate of Need

FOR the purpose of suspending the Health Resources Planning
Commission's authority to receive and act on new certificate
of need applications until a certain date; exempting certain
certificate of need applications from the moratorium;
requiring the Health Resources Planning Commission to report
to the General Assembly before a certain date on the effect
of the moratorium imposed by this Act; providing that a
certificate of need is not required to establish or provide
domiciliary care services; requiring the Health Resources
Planning Commission to undertake an institution specific
study of the capacity, licensed beds, and occupancy rates of
each hospital in the State and methods by which the
certificate of need process can be streamlined and made more
efficient; relating generally to the certificate of need
process; and providing that this Act is an emergency
measure.

Preamble

WHEREAS, The Maryland health care delivery system is
experiencing a series of changes that are dramatically altering
and reducing the utilization of hospital services; and

WHEREAS, In the first 6 months of 1984, the changes in
hospital utilization patterns have resulted in a 7 percent drop
in length of stay, a decrease in total patient days of 142,000,
and a fall in the average daily census by 800 patients; and

WHEREAS, These changes have rendered the recently adopted
State health plan out of date because its methodologies do not
reflect current trends; and

WHEREAS, There is a need to develop an institution specific
capacity plan in order to rationally address the reduction in
hospital utilization and the resultant increase in excess
capacity; and

WHEREAS, The reduction in excess hospital capacity will
have an impact on and ramifications for the entire health care
delivery system; and

WHEREAS, The examination of productive, alternative uses of
existing excess capacity should generally occur prior to the
development of new resources; and