Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) Prior to
taking enforcement action against an applicant or licensee, the department
shall send to the applicant or licensee a written notice that sets forth:
(1) The reasons for the proposed
action;
(2) The action to be taken
by the department;
(3) If a fine is
imposed, the automatic reduction of the fine by 25% if the fine is paid within
10 days of the date on the written notice from the department and the area of
non-compliance has been corrected, or a POC has been accepted and approved by
the department; and
(4) The right
of an applicant or licensee to a hearing in accordance with
RSA 151:8
or
RSA 541-A:30,
III, as applicable before the enforcement
action becomes final.
(b) The department shall deny an application
or revoke a license if:
(1) An applicant or a
licensee violated a provision of RSA 151 or He-P 809 in a manner which posed a
risk of harm to a patient's health, safety, or well-being of a
patient;
(2) An applicant or a
licensee has failed to pay an administrative fine imposed by the
department;
(3) An applicant or a
licensee has had a check returned to the department for insufficient funds and
has not re-submitted the outstanding fee in the form of cash, money order or
certified check;
(4) After being
notified of and given an opportunity to supply missing information, or schedule
an initial inspection an applicant or licensee fails to submit an application
that meets the requirements of
He-P
809.04;
(5) The applicant, licensee, or any
representative or employee of the applicant or licensee:
a. Provides false or misleading information
to the department;
b. Prevents,
interferes, or fails to cooperate with any inspection or investigation
conducted by the department; or
c.
Fails to provide requested files or documents to the department;
(6) The licensee failed to
implement or continue to implement a POC that has been accepted or imposed by
the department in accordance with
He-P 809.12(c), (d)
, and (e);
(7) The licensee has submitted a POC that has
not been accepted by the department in accordance with
He-P 809.12(c) (5)
and has not submitted a revised POC as
required by
He-P 809.12(c) (5)
;
(8) The licensee is cited a third time under
RSA 151 or He-P 809 for the same violation within the last 5
inspections;
(9) A licensee, or its
corporate officers, has had a license revoked and submits an application during
the 5-year prohibition period specified in (j) below;
(10) Unless a waiver has been granted, upon
inspection, the applicant or licensee is not in compliance with RSA 151 or He-P
809;
(11) Unless a waiver has been
granted, the department makes a determination that the applicant,
administrator, or licensee has been found guilty of or plead guilty to a felony
assault, theft, fraud, abuse, neglect, or exploitation of any person, in this
or any other state, or had an investigation for abuse, neglect, or exploitation
adjudicated and founded by the department or any administrative agency in this
or any other state;
(12) The
applicant or licensee employs an administrator who does not meet the
qualifications for the position under circumstances in which the department has
not granted a waiver; or
(13) The
applicant has had a license revoked by any division or unit of the department
within 5 years prior to the application.
(c) The department shall impose fines on
unlicensed individuals, applicants, or licensees as follows:
(1) For a failure to cease providing
unlicensed services after being notified by the department of the need for a
license, in violation of
RSA
151:2, the fine shall be $2000.00 for an
applicant or unlicensed entity;
(2)
For a failure to cease operations after a denial of a license or after receipt
of an order to cease and desist operations, in violation of
RSA
151:2 and
RSA
541-A:30, or continuing to operate after a
failure to renew the license by the expiration date, the fine for an applicant,
unlicensed entity or a licensee shall be $2000.00;
(3) For advertising services or otherwise
representing themselves as having a license to provide services that they are
not licensed to provide, in violation of
RSA 151:2,
III, and
He-P
809.14(g) , the fine for an
applicant, licensee, or unlicensed entity shall be $500.00;
(4) For a failure to comply with the
directives of a warning issued by the department, in violation of
RSA
151:7-a and
He-P 809.11(e) (4)
, the fine for an unlicensed entity or a
licensee shall be $500.00;
(5) For
a failure to submit a renewal application for a license prior to the expiration
date, in violation of
He-P
809.06(e) , the fine for a licensee
shall be $100.00;
(6) For a failure
to notify the department prior to a change of ownership, in violation of
He-P
809.08(a) (1) , the fine for a
licensee shall be $500.00;
(7) For
a failure to notify the department prior to a change in the physical location,
in violation of
He-P
809.08(a) (2) , the fine for a
licensee shall be $1000.00;
(8) For
a failure to notify the department of a change in e-mail address, in violation
of
He-P
809.08(n) , the fine shall be
$100.00;
(9) For a failure to allow
access by the department to the HHCP's premises, programs, services, patients,
or records, in violation of
He-P 809.09(a) (1) -(2)
, the fine for an applicant, unlicensed
entity or licensee shall be $2000.00;
(10) For a failure to submit a POC or revised
POC, within 21 or 14 days, respectively, of the date on the letter that
transmits the inspection report, or the date of an extension as granted, in
violation of
He-P 809.12(c) (2) or (5)
, the fine for a licensee shall be
$500.00;
(11) For a failure to
implement or maintain the corrective action set forth in any POC that has been
accepted or issued by the department, in violation of
He-P 809.12(c) (8)
, the fine for a licensee shall be
$1000.00;
(12) For a failure to
establish, implement, or comply with licensee policies, as required by
He-P
809.14(b), (d) , and (s) the fine for
a licensee shall be $500.00;
(13)
For a failure to provide services or programs required by the licensing
classification and specified by
He-P
809.14(c) , the fine for a licensee
shall be $500.00;
(14) For a
failure to transfer a patient whose needs exceeds the services or programs
provided by the HHCP, in violation of
RSA
151:5-a, the fine for a licensee shall be
$500.00;
(15) For providing false
or misleading information or documentation to the department, in violation of
He-P
809.14(f) , the fine shall be
$1000.00 per offense;
(16) For a
failure to meet the needs of the patient, as described in
He-P
809.14(i) (2) , the fine for a
licensee shall be $1000.00 per patient;
(17) For employing an administrator or other
personnel who do not meet the qualifications for the position, without having a
waiver granted by the department in accordance with
He-P
809.14, the fine for a licensee shall be
$500.00;
(18) When an inspection
determines that a violation of RSA 151 or He-P 809 for which a fine was
previously imposed, in addition to any other enforcement actions taken by the
department, the fines assessed shall be as follows:
a. If the same area of non-compliance is
cited within 2 years of the original non-compliance, the fine for a licensee
shall be $1000; or
b. If the same
area of non-compliance is cited a third time within 2 years of being fined in
a. above, the fine for a licensee shall be triple the original fine, but not to
exceed $2000.00;
(19)
Each day that the individual or licensee continues to be in violation of the
provisions of RSA 151 or He-P 809 shall constitute a separate violation and
shall be fined in accordance with He-P 809.13(c); and
(20) If the applicant or licensee is making
good faith efforts to comply with above, as verified by documentation or other
means, the department shall not issue a daily fine.
(d) Payment of any imposed fine to the
department shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Payment shall be made in the form of
check or money order made payable to the "Treasurer"; and
(2) Cash, money order, or certified check
shall be required when an applicant or licensee has issued payment to the
department by check, and such check was returned for insufficient
funds.
(e) An applicant
or licensee shall have 30 days after receipt of the notice of enforcement
action to request a hearing to contest the action.
(f) If a written request for a hearing is not
made pursuant to (e) above, the action of the department shall become
final.
(g) The department shall
order the immediate suspension of a license, the cessation of services, patient
when it finds that the health, safety, or well-being of patients is in jeopardy
and requires emergency action in accordance with RSA 541:A-30.
(h) If an immediate suspension is upheld, the
licensee shall not resume operating until the department determines through
inspection that compliance with RSA 151 and He-P 809 is achieved.
(i) Hearings under this section shall be
conducted in accordance with RSA 541-A and He-C 200.
(j) When a HHCP's license has been denied or
revoked,, the applicant, licensee, or administrator shall not be eligible to
apply for a license or be employed as an administrator for at least 5 years if
the denial or revocation specifically pertained to their role in the
program.
(k) The 5 year period
referenced in (j) above shall begin on:
(1)
The date of the department's decision to revoke or deny the license if no
appeal is filed; or
(2) The date a
final decision upholding the action of the department is issued, if a request
for an administrative hearing is made and a hearing is held.
(l) Notwithstanding (j) above, the
department shall consider an application submitted after the decision to revoke
or deny becomes final, if the applicant demonstrates that circumstances have
changed to the extent that the department now has good cause to believe that
the applicant has the requisite degree of knowledge, skills and resources
necessary to maintain compliance with the provisions of RSA 151 and He-P
809.
(m) If the department has
reasonable information or evidence that a licensee, applicant, administrator,
or others are circumventing (k) above by applying for a license through an
agent or other individual and will retain ownership, management authority, or
both, the department shall deny the application.
(n) No ongoing enforcement action shall
preclude the imposition of any remedy available to the department under RSA
151, RSA 541-A, or He-P 809.
#9466, eff
5-2-09
