Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A.
Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, no hospice provider shall be
licensed to operate unless the FNR program has granted an approval for the
issuance of a hospice provider license. Once the FNR approval is granted, a
hospice provider is eligible to be licensed by the department, subject to
meeting all of the requirements for licensure.
B. The geographic service area for proposed
or existing hospice providers is any parish within a 50 mile radius of the
proposed physical location where the provider is or will be licensed.
C. Determination of Need/Approval.
1. The FNR committee will review the FNR
application to determine if there is a need for an additional hospice provider
within a 50 mile radius of the proposed physical location that the application
is submitted.
2. The FNR committee
shall approve the FNR application only if the data contained in the application
and other evidence effectively establishes the probability of serious, adverse
consequences to the recipients' ability to access hospice care if the hospice
provider is not allowed to be licensed.
3. In reviewing the application, the FNR
committee may consider, but is not limited to, evidence showing:
a. the number of other hospice providers
within a 50 mile radius of the proposed physical location servicing the same
population; and
b. allegations
involving issues of access to hospice provider care and
services.
4. The burden
is on the applicant to provide data and evidence to effectively establish the
probability of serious, adverse consequences to the recipients' ability to
access hospice care if the hospice provider is not allowed to be licensed. The
FNR committee shall not approve any FNR application if the application fails to
provide such data and evidence.
D. Applications for approvals of licensed
hospice providers submitted under these provisions are bound to the description
in the application with regard to the type of services proposed as well as to
the physical location as defined in the application. Facility need review
approval of licensed hospice providers shall expire if these aspects of the
application are altered or changed.
E. Except as otherwise provided below, FNR
approvals for licensed hospice providers are non-transferrable and are limited
to the physical location and the name of the original licensee.
1. A hospice provider undergoing a change of
physical location within a 50 mile radius of the licensed physical location
shall submit a written attestation of the change of physical location,
including the license number, state ID, current address and new address, and
the department shall re-issue the FNR approval with the name and new physical
location. A hospice provider undergoing a change of physical location outside
of the 50 mile radius of the licensed physical location shall submit a new FNR
application and fee, and undergo the FNR approval process.
2. A hospice provider undergoing a change of
ownership shall submit a new FNR application to the department's FNR program,
requesting a transfer of the FNR approval to the new owner. Facility need
review approval for the new owner shall be granted upon submission of the new
application and proof of the change of ownership, provided that the legal
change of ownership documents require the seller's or transferor's written
relinquishment of the FNR approval.
3. Facility need review approval of a
licensed provider shall automatically expire if the hospice provider is moved
or transferred to another party, entity or physical location without an
application being made to, and approval from the FNR program.
F. The following timeframes shall
apply for complying with the requirements for obtaining approval of
architectural plans and/or licensure.
1.
Hospice outpatient providers shall be licensed within six months from the date
of the FNR approval.
2. Hospice
inpatient facilities that are to be licensed in existing buildings, shall have
final architectural plans approved no later than six months from the date of
the FNR approval. Such facilities shall be licensed within one year from the
date of the FNR approval.
3.
Hospice inpatient facilities that are to be licensed in newly constructed
buildings, shall have final architectural plans approved no later than six
months from the date of the FNR approval. Such facilities shall be licensed
within 24 months from the date of the FNR approval.
4. A one-time 90-day extension may be
granted, at the discretion of the department, when delays are caused by
circumstances beyond the control of the applicant. Inappropriate zoning is not
a basis for an extension.
5.
Failure to meet any of the timeframes in this Section shall result in an
automatic expiration of the FNR approval of the hospice agency or
facility.
AUTHORITY
NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 36:254 and 40:2116 et
seq.
