Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 45, November 8, 2024
Section 65-7-15 - Exemptions from Certificate of Need Program15.1. Except for the acquisition of major medical equipment which costs in excess of two million dollars, the following projects are not subject to supervision, regulation or control by the board: 15.1.a. Any private office practice of one or more health professionals licensed pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 30 of the W. Va. Code. This exemption does not exempt from review the acquisition, offering or development of one or more health services, including ambulatory surgical facilities or centers, lithotripsy, magnetic resonance imaging or radiation therapy by one or more health professionals and as further defined in the Health Care Authority's legislative rule, "Health Services Offered by Health Professionals," 65 CSR 17;15.1.b. Any dispensary or first-aid station located within a business or industrial establishment and maintained solely for the use of employees. The facility may not contain inpatient or resident beds for patients or employees who generally remain in the facility for more than twenty-four hours;15.1.c. Any establishment, such as a motel, hotel or boarding house, which provides medical, nursing personnel and health related services;15.1.d. The remedial care or treatment of residents or patients in any home or institution conducted only for those who rely solely upon treatment by prayer or spiritual means in accordance with the creed or tenets of any recognized church or religious denomination;15.1.e. The creation of new primary care services located in communities that are underserved with respect to primary care services. This exemption is limited to applicants that are community-based nonprofit organizations with community boards that provide or will provide primary care services to people without regard to ability to pay. This exemption is further defined in the Health Care Authority's legislative rule, "Exemption for New Primary Care Services," 65CSR23; and15.1.f. The creation of birthing centers by nonprofit primary care centers that have a community board and provide primary care services to people in their community without regard to ability to pay, or by nonprofit hospitals with less than one hundred licensed acute care beds. This exemption is further defined in the Health Care Authority's legislative rule, "Exemption for Birthing Centers," 65CSR24.15.2. A health care facility is exempt from the certificate of need requirements for the acquisition of major medical equipment to be used solely for research, the addition of health services to be offered solely for research, or the obligation of a capital expenditure to be made solely for research, if the facility notifies the board in writing of its intent and the use to be made of the medical equipment, health service or capital expenditure, and the board does not find, within sixty (60) days after it receives the notice, that the acquisition, offering or obligation will: 15.2.a. Affect the charges of the facility for the provision of medical or other patient care services other than the services which are included in the research;15.2.b. Result in a substantial change to the bed capacity of the facility; or15.2.c. Result in a substantial change to the health services of the facility.15.3. For the purposes of this section, the phrase "solely for research" includes patient care provided on an occasional and irregular basis and not as part of a research program.15.4. If major medical equipment is acquired, a health service is offered, or a capital expenditure is obligated solely for research, and a certificate of need is not required for the acquisition, offering or obligation, then the equipment, service or facility acquired may not be used for another purpose unless the board issues a certificate of need approving the different use or purpose.15.5. Prior to acquiring major medical equipment, offering a health service or obligating a capital expenditure solely for research, a health care facility shall notify the board in writing of its intent and the use to be made of the medical equipment, health service or capital expenditure.15.6. The board may exempt from certificate of need review the obligation of a capital expenditure to acquire, either by purchase or under lease or comparable arrangement, an existing health care facility with a fair market value less than two million dollars if:15.6.a. The board finds, within thirty (30) days of the date it receives a notice required by paragraph 15.3.a.2. of this section, that the services or bed capacity of the facility will not be changed by reason of the acquisition; and15.6.b. Before the person enters into a contractual arrangement to acquire an existing health care facility, whether or not contingent upon the receipt of an exemption, a notification of that intent is sent to the board in writing at least thirty (30) days before contractual arrangements are entered into to acquire the facility, which notifies the board of the services to be offered in the facility and its bed capacity; and15.6.c. The board finds that the acquisition is financially feasible and that the applicant has adequate resources to ensure the viability of the project.15.7. A person shall not enter into a contractual arrangement to acquire an existing health care facility, whether or not contingent upon the receipt of an exemption, without first providing written notice to the board as required by paragraph 15.3.a.2. of this rule.15.8. An exemption from certificate of need review may be obtained by two or more acute care facilities for shared services which can reasonably be made mobile. This exemption is further defined in the Health Care Authority's legislative rule, "Exemption for Shared Services," 65CSR16.15.9. All health care facilities or persons granted an exemption from certificate of need review shall report the progress toward completion of the exempt project to the board not less than forty-five (45) days prior to the one year anniversary date of the exemption or at other times as the board may require in writing. Any failure to report the progress of the exempted project when required to do so, or to report a substantial change in the scope of the exempted project, is sufficient cause for the board to withdraw the exemption or determine that there has been a substantial change to the project requiring certificate of need review. If the board withdraws a previously granted exemption, the health care facility shall obtain a certificate of need before proceeding with the project.