N.H. Admin. Code § He-Hea 201.01

Current through Register No. 44, October 31, 2024

Section He-Hea 201.01 - Definitions

(a) "Adjudicative proceeding" means "adjudicative proceeding" as defined in RSA 541-A:1, I and includes:

(1) A proceeding to determine whether to grant an application for a certificate of need or change of scope;

(2) A proceeding to determine whether to grant an application that a project is not subject to review, if the board grants a petition to intervene or determines that the proceeding is a contested case or does not meet the standards set forth in He-Hea 203.02 for being placed on the consent agenda; and

(3) A proceeding for a waiver.

(b) "Affected persons" means organizations representing health care consumers and providers, including but not limited to:

(1) New Hampshire Health Maintenance Organization Association;

(2) Business and Industry Association of N.H.;

(3) Any organization of New Hampshire licensed health insurance companies that registers with the board;

(4) New Hampshire Association of Counties;

(5) N.H. Coalition For Handicapped Citizens;

(6) New Hampshire Health Care Association;

(7) New Hampshire Home Care Association of N.H.;

(8) New Hampshire Hospital Association;

(9) New Hampshire Legal Assistance;

(10) New Hampshire Medical Society;

(11) New Hampshire Municipal Association;

(12) New Hampshire Ambulatory Surgery Association;

(13) Members of the public who have an interest in the proposed project; and

(14) Any citizen group that registers with the board.

(c) "Affiliate" means any person or entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control, with the applicant including but not limited to:

(1) An entity's employee that is the president, vice president, executive director, chief executive officer, manager, treasurer or other executive or financial officer of another entity;

(2) A majority of the board of directors or trustees of one entity that are employed as officers, managers, trustees or directors of another entity;

(3) A natural person or a family or an entity, entity's officers, directors or trustees that are entitled to nominate, appoint or elect the majority of another entity's directors or officers; and

(4) A person or entity other than a bank or similar financial institution that guaranties the obligation of another person or entity.

(d) "Alternate technologies" means diagnostic or therapeutic equipment or technologies other than the equipment or technologies that an applicant or petitioner intends to acquire in connection with a project that is the subject of a CON application or by petition for an order that the project is not subject to review.

(e) "Applicant" means "applicant" as defined in RSA 151-C:2, II.

(f) "Application" means a proposal prepared by a person and filed with the board for a certificate of need pursuant to He-Hea 301.

(g) "Board" means "board" as described in RSA 151-C:3.

(h) "Capital expenditure" means "capital expenditure" as defined in RSA 151-C:2, VI.

(i) "Certificate of Need (CON)" means "certificate of need" as defined in RSA 151-C:2, VIII.

(j) "Change of scope" means a proposal prepared by a person and filed with the board to amend an approved certificate of need pursuant to He-Hea 301.13.

(k) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of health and human services.

(l) "Completeness review" means a process by which applications for CONs are examined to determine whether the application contains information to address all of the standards in order for the board to make a determination concerning the application.

(m) "Consent agenda" means the matters for board review which are anticipated to be approved without objection, including applications as described in He-Hea 203.02 which require a decision that each project is not subject to certificate of need review.

(n) "Construction" means "construction" as defined in RSA 151-C:2, XII.

(o) "Consumer" means "consumer" as defined in RSA 151-C:3, I (a) (2) (B).

(p) "Contested case" means "contested case" as defined in RSA 541-A:1, IV.

(q) "Data" means all information other than argument, including oral or written descriptions, reports, maps, charts, drawings, photographs, audio or video recordings, computer programs or computer printouts.

(r) "Diagnostic equipment" means equipment used for preventive medical assessment or medical diagnosis of injured, disabled or sick persons.

(s) "Document" means an instrument on which is recorded writings, written descriptions, computer printouts, maps, plans, lithographs or photographs which may be used as evidence.

(t) "Evidence" means any species of proof, or probative matter, legally presented at a proceeding of an issue, by the act of the parties and through the medium of witnesses, records, documents, exhibits, or concrete objects for the purpose of inducing belief in the minds of the board as to their contention.

(u) "Expeditious review" means an abridged review of applications that is exempt from RSA 151-C:8 but subject to RSA 151-C:13, III and He-Hea 302.

(v) "File" means to place a pleading motion, reply objection or document meeting the standards of He-Hea 206.01 in the actual possession of the board.

(w) "Final decision" means a decision of the board, following which the board will have no further consideration of an application, NSR application, request for declaratory judgment or other matter.

(x) "Financial hardship" means a loss of income due to catastrophic illness, job loss or other economic situation which results in the inability of a person to pay for goods and services otherwise attainable.

(y) "Health care facility" means "health care facility" as defined in RSA 151-C:2, XV-a.

(z) "Hearing" means the receipt and consideration by the board of data or argument, or both, which is pertinent to an issue currently being decided by the board.

(aa) "Institutional health service" means "institutional health service" as defined in RSA 151-C: 2, XXII.

(ab) "Integrated project" means one or more activities taken within a period of 36 months, which together:

(1) Comprise a single project and not a series of independent projects; and

(2) Require a CON review per standards developed pursuant to RSA 151-C:5, II.

(ac) "Intervention" means the procedure by which a third person, not originally a party to the proceedings on an application or a petition, but claiming an interest in the subject matter of the application or petition, comes into the proceedings pursuant to RSA 541-A:32, in order to protect his/her right or interpose his/her claim.

(ad) "Letter of intent" means a document submitted to the board which identifies a proposed project and that seeks an order of the board. The term includes "petition for a project not subject to review".

(ae) "Licensed bed complement" means the number of beds in a health care facility that are licensed by the bureau of health facilities administration, department of health and human services.

(af) "Medically underserviced" means a group of persons in the state or region(s) of the state that are identified as having difficulties in accessing health care services including, but not limited to:

(1) Indigent and low income persons;

(2) Persons who are uninsured;

(3) Persons for whom language is a barrier;

(4) Persons classified as having a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section III;

(5) Persons residing in a state or federally designated health shortage service area; and

(6) Other groups as identified by an applicant within a project for CON review.

(ag) "Motion" means any request by a party to an existing proceeding for an order or relief relating to that proceeding.

(ah) "Nonadjudicative processes" means "nonadjudicative processes" as defined in RSA 541-A:1, X.

(ai) "Notice" means information, in writing, intended to apprise a person of some proceeding in which his/her interests are involved, or informing him/her of some fact which it is his/her right to know.

(aj) "Not subject to review (NSR)" means a determination by the board that a project described in an application and submitted to the board:

(1) Does not meet the jurisdictional requirements of RSA 151-C:5;

(2) Is exempted by RSA 151-C:13; or

(3) Is not reviewable by application of the board's own rules.

(ak) "Office" means the office of health services planning and review, department of health and human services. It also includes the term "agency".

(al) "Order" means a document issued by the board requiring a person to do, or to abstain from doing, some thing, or determining a person's rights or privileges.

(am) "Party" means "party" as defined in RSA 541-A:1, XII.

(an) "Person" means "person" as defined in RSA 151-C:2, XXVIII, but does not include the board or a member of the board.

(ao) "Petition" means a written request, application, complaint, or other communication to the board other than a motion, seeking an order, license, action or other relief.

(ap) "Petitioner" means a person who presents a petition to the board, including a person who submits a letter of intent to the board.

(aq) "Pleading" means the formal allegations by the parties or their respective claims and defenses.

(ar) "Pre-application conference" means a meeting held with the presiding officer or his/her designee and the applicant(s) to review the requirements outlined in the application format, the applicable rules and the statute prior to preparing an application for submission to the board for a certificate of need review.

(as) "Presiding officer" means the chairperson or deputy chairperson of the board or other member of the board elected by a quorum of board members as having the authority to preside over a proceeding.

(at) "Proceeding" means an adjudicative proceeding, a non-adjudicative proceeding, a rulemaking proceeding, or an investigative proceeding as described in these rules.

(au) "Project" means a proposal or undertaking to alter, acquire through purchase, lease, donation, transfer or other comparable arrangement, construct, develop, or expand a health care facility or health care service. It includes the term "integrated project".

(av) "Project costs" means all costs related to a single project or an integrated project, including but not limited to the following costs, as applicable:

(1) Legal fees;

(2) Consulting fees;

(3) Financial feasibility fees;

(4) Architect and engineering fees;

(5) Other fees;

(6) Real estate acquisition;

(7) Site preparation;

(8) Utilities;

(9) Soil survey and evaluation;

(10) Temporary relocation costs;

(11) Moving costs;

(12) Construction costs, including:

a. Labor costs for new construction;

b. Labor costs for renovations/alterations;

c. Materials for new construction;

d. Materials for renovations/alterations;

e. Fixed equipment costs for new construction;

f. Fixed equipment costs for renovations/alterations;

g. Demolition costs;

h. Insurance costs during construction;

i. Interest costs during construction; and

j. Fixed equipment;

(13) Moveable equipment;

(14) Bond discount;

(15) Debt service reserve; and

(16) The anticipated useful life of the building(s).

(aw) "Proponent" means a propounder of an application for a certificate of need or other person seeking an order of the board.

(ax) "Provider" means "provider of health care" as defined in RSA 151-C:2, XXX.

(ay) "Publication" means the act of publishing, offering to public notice or rendering the subject of the publication to public scrutiny.

(az) "Quality assurance plan" means a continuous plan of collection, screening and evaluation of information concerning patient care, placement and clinical performance leading to the methods of resolving and/or eliminating problems as identified by professional and administrative staffs, patients and their families and other professionals in the delivery of health care services.

(ba) "Request for application (RFA)" means "request for application" as defined in RSA 151-C:2, XXXIV.

(bb) "R.S. Means Historical Cost Index" means the January 2014 publication of R.S. Means Company, Inc. used to estimate and compare construction costs for different years.

(bc) "Rulemaking" means the proceeding for formulating agency rules set forth in RSA 541-A:3.

(bd) "Service area" means a geographic area in which a majority of a health care provider's clientele reside. The term includes a special planning area defined by law which is not necessarily related to market areas or other considerations.

(be) "Standard" means "standard" as defined in RSA 151-C:2, XXXVI.

(bf) "Substantial completion" means the construction, renovation and/or remodeling project is completed to the point where the applicant is able to operate the facility in accordance with the certificate of need.

(bg) "Therapeutic equipment" means equipment used for preventive treatment or medical treatment of injured, disabled or sick persons.

(bh) "Total capital expenditures" means the sum total of all capital expenditures related to a project as defined in RSA 151-C:2, VI.

(bi) "Total project costs" means the sum total of all project costs.

(bj) "Uninsured" means a person who:

(1) Is not covered or eligible for health care insurance;

(2) Is eligible but not enrolled in a health insurance plan; or

(3) Is otherwise covered by a health insurance plan that does not cover the medically needed service(s).

(bk) "Waiver" means a determination by the board that a change of scope need not be filed for changes to an approved certificate of need because the changes are determined to be technical or not significant.

N.H. Admin. Code § He-Hea 201.01

#4036(E), eff 4-8-86; ss by #4223, eff 2-5-87; ss by #4922, eff 8-23-90; ss by #5593, eff 3-10-93, EXPIRED: 3-10-99

New. #6976, INTERIM, eff 4-15-99, EXPIRED: 8-13-99

New. #7139, eff 11-23-99; amd by #7928, eff 8-5-03; ss by #9075-A, eff 1-24-08

Amended byVolume XXXIV Number 50, Filed December 11, 2014, Proposed by #10722, Effective 11/22/2014.