Current through Register Vol. 24-18, September 15, 2024
(1) When an existing owner-operator of a
Washington state kidney disease treatment center is also the owner-operator of
a kidney disease treatment center in a contiguous Idaho or Oregon county, the
department will not consider a center that combines the Washington center and
the out-of-state center to be a new health care center under WAC
246-310-020(1)
provided all of the following criteria are satisfied:
(a) The Washington state kidney disease
treatment center is located in Asotin, Benton, Clark, Columbia, Cow-litz,
Garfield, Klickitat, Pend Oreille, Skamania, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, or Whitman
counties;
(b) The kidney disease
treatment center is the sole provider of dialysis services in the Washington
state county;
(c) The kidney
disease treatment center is the sole provider of dialysis services in the
contiguous Idaho or Oregon county;
(d) The replacement kidney disease treatment
center will be located in the same county or planning area as the current
Washington state center;
(e) Both
existing kidney disease treatment centers cease operation;
(f) There is no break in service between the
closure of the existing kidney disease treatment centers and the operation of
the replacement center;
(g) There
has been no change in ownership of either the Washington kidney disease
treatment center or out-of-state kidney disease treatment center for at least
five years prior to applying for the exemption under this section;
(h) Each existing kidney disease treatment
center has been operated by the current provider for a minimum of five years
prior to applying for the exemption under this section;
(i) Each existing kidney disease treatment
center has been operating at its current location for a minimum of five years
prior to applying for the exemption under this section;
(j) The department has not granted a previous
exemption under the provisions of this section; and
(k) The number of stations at the replacement
kidney disease treatment center does not exceed the total of:
(i) All stations from the Washington state
kidney disease treatment center; and
(ii) Using the 4.8 patients per station
standard, the stations necessary for the number of patients receiving dialysis
at the out-of-state kidney disease treatment center as reported on the most
recent Network quarterly modality report.
(2) Once a Washington state provider has
requested and received its one-time exemption under the provisions of this
section, the kidney disease treatment center's "resident in-center patient"
will have the same meaning as all patients at the center.
