Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 48 - PUBLIC HEALTH-GENERAL
Part I - General Administration
Subpart 3 - Licensing and Certification
Chapter 56 - Behavioral Health Service Providers
Subchapter B - Licensing
Section I-5605 - General Provisions

Universal Citation: LA Admin Code I-5605

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

A. All BHS providers shall be licensed by the LDH. It shall be unlawful to operate as a BHS provider without a license issued by the department.

B. A BHS provider license authorizes the provider to provide behavioral health services.

C. A BHS provider license shall:

1. be issued only for the person/entity and premises named in the license application;

2. be valid only for the BHS provider to which it is issued and only for one geographic address of that provider approved by LDH;

3. be valid for up to one year from the date of issuance, unless revoked, suspended, or modified prior to that date, or unless a provisional license is issued;

4. expire on the expiration date listed on the license, unless timely renewed by the BHS provider;

5. be invalid if sold, assigned, donated or transferred, whether voluntary or involuntary;

6. be posted in a conspicuous place on the licensed premises at all times;

7. be valid for only one geographic service area; and

8. enable the BHS provider to render delineated behavioral health services within its geographic service area as defined in Section 5603

D. To be considered operational and retain licensed status, the BHS provider shall meet the following applicable operational requirements.

1. A BHS provider providing on-site services shall:
a. have established operational hours for a minimum of 20 hours per week, as indicated on the license application or change notification approved by LDH;

b. have services available and the required direct care staff on duty at all times during operational hours to meet the needs of the clients;

c. be able to accept referrals during operational hours; and

d. at any time that the BHS provider has an interruption in services or a change in the licensed location due to an emergency situation, the provider shall notify the HSS no later than the next business day.

2. A BHS provider providing services only in the home and community shall:
a. have a business location which conforms to the provisions of §5691. B of this Chapter;

b. have at least one employee on duty at the business location during stated hours of operation; and

c. have direct care staff and professional services staff employed and available to be assigned to provide services to persons in their homes or in the community upon referral for services.

E. The licensed BHS provider shall abide by any state and/or federal law, rule, policy, procedure, manual or memorandum pertaining to BHS providers.

F. Provider Names. A BHS provider is prohibited from using:

1. the same name as another provider;

2. a name that resembles the name of another BHS provider licensed by the department as determined by the Louisiana Secretary of State;

3. a name that may mislead the client or public into believing it is owned, endorsed or operated by the state of Louisiana when it is not.

G. Off-Sites. A licensed BHS provider may have an offsite location with the approval of HSS that meets the following requirements.

1. The off-site may share a name with the parent facility if a geographic indicator (e.g., street, city or parish) is added to the end of the off-site name.

2. Each off-site shall be licensed as an off-site under the parent facilitys license.

3. The off-site shall have written established operating hours.

4. The off-site shall operate either:
a. - b. Repealed.

5. The licensed BHS provider may operate within a 50 mile radius of one designated off-site location.

6. A residential off-site shall be reviewed under the plan review process.

7. An initial survey may be required prior to opening a residential off-site.

8. An off-site shall have staff to comply with all requirements in this Chapter and who are present during established operating hours to meet the needs of the clients.

9. Personnel records and client records may be housed at the parent facility.

10. Clients who do not receive all treatment services at an off-site may receive the services at the parent facility or be referred to another licensed provider that provides those services.

11. The off-site may offer fewer services than the parent facility and/or may have less staff than the parent facility.

12. The off-site together with the parent facility provides all core functions of a BHS provider and meets all licensing requirements of a BHS provider.

H. Plan Review

1. Plan review is required for outpatient clinics and residential BHS provider locations where direct care services or treatment will be provided, except for the physical environment of a substance use/addiction treatment facility or licensed mental health clinic at the time of this Chapter's promulgation.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions in this Section, any entity that will operate as a BHS provider and is required to go through plan review shall complete the plan review process and obtain approval for its construction documents in accordance with:
a.R.S. 40:1574;

b. the current Louisiana Administrative Code (LAC) provisions;

c. OSFM requirements; and

d. the requirements for the providers physical environment in Subchapter H of this Chapter.

3. Any change in the type of the license shall require review for requirements applicable at the time of licensing change.

4. Upon plan review approval, the provider shall submit the following to the department:
a. a copy of the final construction documents approved by OSFM; and

b. OSFMs approval letter.

I. Waivers

1. The secretary of the LDH may, within his/her sole discretion, grant waivers to building and construction guidelines which are not part of or otherwise required under the provisions of the LAC Title 51, Public Health Sanitary Code or the OSFM.

2. In order to request a waiver, the provider shall submit a written request to HSS that demonstrates:
a. how client safety and quality of care are not compromised by the waiver;

b. the undue hardship imposed on the provider if the waiver is not granted; and

c. the providers ability to completely fulfill all other requirements of service.

3. The department will make a written determination of each waiver request.

4. Waivers are not transferable in a CHOW or geographic change of location, and are subject to review or revocation upon any change in circumstances related to the waiver.

J. The BHS provider shall maintain and make available to the department any information or records related to compliance with this Chapter.

K. The BHS provider shall permit designated representatives of the department, in performance of their duties, to:

1. inspect all areas of the BHS providers operations; and

2. conduct interviews with any provider staff member, client or other person as necessary.

L. An owner, officer, member, manager, administrator, clinical director, medical director, managing employee or clinical supervisor is prohibited from being a BHS provider, who has been convicted of or entered a guilty or nolo contendere plea to a felony related to:

1. violence, abuse or neglect against a person;

2. sexual misconduct and/or any crimes that requires the person to register pursuant to the Sex Offenders Registration Act;

3. cruelty, exploitation or the sexual battery of a juvenile or the infirmed;

4. the misappropriation of property belonging to another person;

5. a crime of violence;

6. an alcohol or drug offense, unless the offender has:
a. completed his/her sentence, including the terms of probation or parole, at least five years prior to the ownership of or working relationship with the provider; and

b. been sober per personal attestation for the last two years;

7. possession or use of a firearm or deadly weapon;

8. Medicare or Medicaid fraud; or

9. fraud or misappropriation of federal or state funds.

M. Geographic Service Area

1. The geographic service area is the geographic area that a BHS provider's license allows services (including all telehealth services) to be provided to clients.

2. For purposes of this licensing rule, the geographic service area shall be established as follows:
a. for providers owned and/or operated by a human service district or authority, the geographic service area shall be the parishes and jurisdiction of the district or authority in statute;

b. for providers participating in the Homebuilders program, the geographic service area shall be the parishes of the LDH region in which the provider is licensed and has its primary business office location;
i. upon receipt of a written waiver request from such provider, the LDH Health Standards Section may grant a waiver to a Homebuilders provider to operate in another LDH region for good cause shown;

ii. the LDH Health Standards Section may request from the Homebuilders provider any documentation or information necessary to be able to evaluate and make a determination to grant or deny the waiver request; and

iii. if granted, the waiver shall be for a limited time, and not to exceed six months.

c. for mobile crisis response teams, the geographic service area shall be the parishes of the LDH region in which the provider is licensed and has its primary business office location;

d. for all other BHS providers, the geographic service area shall be as follows:
i. for providers of residential services the geographic service area shall be the fixed, licensed residential location geographic address and any licensed offsite residential location geographic address only;

ii. for providers of outpatient services (other than providers with a mental health service program that provide services only in the home and community - see below) the geographic service area shall be:
(a). the geographic address of the licensed outpatient clinic;

(b). the geographic address of any licensed offsite outpatient clinic;

(c). in a home or community location in the parish in which the primary business office of the BHS provider is located;

(d). in a home or community location in any parish contiguous to the parish in which the BHS provider's primary business office is located;

(e). in a home or community location that is within a 50 mile radius of the BHS provider's primary business office; and

(f). in a home or community location that is within a 50 mile radius of one designated off-site location.

iii. for providers of a mental health service program that provide services only in the home and community (defined as providers without a fixed, licensed outpatient clinic that only provide behavioral health services to clients in a home or community setting) the geographic service area shall be:
(a). the geographic address of the home or community location in the parish in which the designated primary business office of the BHS provider is located;

(b). the geographic address of the home or community location in any parish contiguous to the parish in which the BHS provider's primary business office is located; and

(c). the geographic address of the home or community location that is within a 50 mile radius of the BHS provider's designated primary business office.

3. A BHS provider that is not a licensed mental health professional or a provisionally licensed mental health professional acting within his/her scope of practice may not provide telehealth services outside of its geographic service area.

4. A licensed mental health professional or a provisionally licensed mental health professional acting within his scope of practice, who is employed by a behavioral health service provider licensed pursuant to this Part, may provide professional outpatient psychiatric services to any established client or patient, regardless of the client's or patient's particular location within the state.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 36:254 and R.S. 40:2151-2162.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.