2015 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 19a - Public Health and Well-Being
Chapter 368z - Office of Health Care Access
Section 19a-639a - Certificate of need application process. Issuance of decision. Public hearings. Policies, procedures and regulations.

(a) An application for a certificate of need shall be filed with the office in accordance with the provisions of this section and any regulations adopted by the Department of Public Health. The application shall address the guidelines and principles set forth in (1) subsection (a) of section 19a-639, and (2) regulations adopted by the department. The applicant shall include with the application a nonrefundable application fee of five hundred dollars.

(b) Prior to the filing of a certificate of need application, the applicant shall publish notice that an application is to be submitted to the office in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the area where the project is to be located. Such notice shall (1) be published (A) not later than twenty days prior to the date of filing of the certificate of need application, and (B) for not less than three consecutive days, and (2) contain a brief description of the nature of the project and the street address where the project is to be located. An applicant shall file the certificate of need application with the office not later than ninety days after publishing notice of the application in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. The office shall not accept the applicant’s certificate of need application for filing unless the application is accompanied by the application fee prescribed in subsection (a) of this section and proof of compliance with the publication requirements prescribed in this subsection.

(c) (1) Not later than five business days after receipt of a properly filed certificate of need application, the office shall publish notice of the application on its Internet web site. Not later than thirty days after the date of filing of the application, the office may request such additional information as the office determines necessary to complete the application. In addition to any information requested by the office, if the application involves the transfer of ownership of a hospital, as defined in section 19a-639, the applicant shall submit to the office (A) a plan demonstrating how health care services will be provided by the new hospital for the first three years following the transfer of ownership of the hospital, including any consolidation, reduction, elimination or expansion of existing services or introduction of new services, and (B) the names of persons currently holding a position with the hospital to be purchased or the purchaser, as defined in section 19a-639, as an officer, director, board member or senior manager, whether or not such person is expected to hold a position with the hospital after completion of the transfer of ownership of the hospital and any salary, severance, stock offering or any financial gain, current or deferred, such person is expected to receive as a result of, or in relation to, the transfer of ownership of the hospital.

(2) The applicant shall, not later than sixty days after the date of the office’s request, submit any requested information and any information required under this subsection to the office. If an applicant fails to submit such information to the office within the sixty-day period, the office shall consider the application to have been withdrawn.

(d) Upon determining that an application is complete, the office shall provide notice of this determination to the applicant and to the public in accordance with regulations adopted by the department. In addition, the office shall post such notice on its Internet web site. The date on which the office posts such notice on its Internet web site shall begin the review period. Except as provided in this subsection, (1) the review period for a completed application shall be ninety days from the date on which the office posts such notice on its Internet web site; and (2) the office shall issue a decision on a completed application prior to the expiration of the ninety-day review period. The review period for a completed application that involves a transfer of a large group practice, as described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 19a-638, when the offer was made in response to a request for proposal or similar voluntary offer for sale, shall be sixty days from the date on which the office posts notice on its Internet web site. Upon request or for good cause shown, the office may extend the review period for a period of time not to exceed sixty days. If the review period is extended, the office shall issue a decision on the completed application prior to the expiration of the extended review period. If the office holds a public hearing concerning a completed application in accordance with subsection (e) or (f) of this section, the office shall issue a decision on the completed application not later than sixty days after the date the office closes the public hearing record.

(e) Except as provided in this subsection, the office shall hold a public hearing on a properly filed and completed certificate of need application if three or more individuals or an individual representing an entity with five or more people submits a request, in writing, that a public hearing be held on the application. For a properly filed and completed certificate of need application involving a transfer of ownership of a large group practice, as described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 19a-638, when an offer was made in response to a request for proposal or similar voluntary offer for sale, a public hearing shall be held if twenty-five or more individuals or an individual representing twenty-five or more people submits a request, in writing, that a public hearing be held on the application. Any request for a public hearing shall be made to the office not later than thirty days after the date the office determines the application to be complete.

(f) (1) The office shall hold a public hearing with respect to each certificate of need application filed pursuant to section 19a-638 after December 1, 2015, that concerns any transfer of ownership involving a hospital. Such hearing shall be held in the municipality in which the hospital that is the subject of the application is located.

(2) The office may hold a public hearing with respect to any certificate of need application submitted under this chapter. The office shall provide not less than two weeks’ advance notice to the applicant, in writing, and to the public by publication in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the area served by the health care facility or provider. In conducting its activities under this chapter, the office may hold hearing on applications of a similar nature at the same time.

(g) The Commissioner of Public Health may implement policies and procedures necessary to administer the provisions of this section while in the process of adopting such policies and procedures as regulation, provided the commissioner holds a public hearing prior to implementing the policies and procedures and prints notice of intent to adopt regulations on the department’s Internet web site and the eRegulations System not later than twenty days after the date of implementation. Policies and procedures implemented pursuant to this section shall be valid until the time final regulations are adopted.

(P.A. 98-150, S. 4, 17; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3, S. 90; P.A. 05-93, S. 5; 05-151, S. 5; 05-168, S. 4; P.A. 06-28, S. 3; P.A. 07-217, S. 84; P.A. 08-14, S. 2; P.A. 09-232, S. 94; P.A. 10-179, S. 89; P.A. 11-242, S. 25; P.A. 12-170, S. 2; P.A. 14-168, S. 8; P.A. 15-146, S. 30; 15-242, S. 42.)

History: P.A. 98-150 effective June 5, 1998 (Revisor’s note: In codifying this section the Revisors editorially changed a reference in Subsec. (b) to “... September thirty.” to “... September thirtieth.”); June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3 amended Subsec. (a) to delete references to residential care home and make a technical change, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 05-93 amended Subsec. (a) by adding exception re Sec. 19a-639(c) and making a technical change, and added Subsec. (c), exempting health care facilities, institutions and providers that purchase, lease or accept donation of certain scanning equipment or linear accelerators on or before July 1, 2005, or that obtain certificate of need approval or a determination that a certificate of need is not required on or before said date, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 05-151 amended Subsec. (b) by requiring biennial, rather than annual, registration of exempt institutions; P.A. 05-168 added new Subsec. (d) exempting from certificate of need review, at office’s discretion, proposals involving the purchase or operation of an electronic medical records system on or after October 1, 2005; P.A. 06-28 amended Subsec. (c)(1) by restricting exemption from certificate of need review to proposals involving certain equipment in operation on or before July 1, 2006, effective May 8, 2006; P.A. 07-217 made a technical change in Subsec. (c), effective July 12, 2007; P.A. 08-14 amended Subsec. (b) by substituting 14 days for 10 business days and making a technical change and added Subsec. (e) re additional capital expenditures that are exempt from certificate of need review, effective April 29, 2008; P.A. 09-232 added Subsec. (a)(12) re program licensed or funded by Department of Children and Families, amended Subsec. (c) by eliminating “cineangiography equipment” and added Subsec. (f) re exemption for outpatient services provided at alternative location within primary service area, effective July 1, 2009; P.A. 10-179 replaced former Subsecs. (a) to (f) with new Subsecs. (a) to (g) re certificate of need application process, time frames for review and issuance of decision by office, public hearing process and authority of Commissioner of Public Health to implement policies and procedures while in process of adopting regulations; P.A. 11-242 amended Subsec. (b) by restructuring existing provisions and adding Subdiv. and Subpara. designators, by requiring applicant to file certificate of need application with office not later than 90 days after publishing notice of application and by making technical changes, and amended Subsec. (c) by eliminating requirement that certificate of need application be filed with Office of the Secretary of the State; P.A. 12-170 amended Subsecs. (a) and (d) by replacing references to office with references to Department of Public Health re regulations and amended Subsec. (d) by replacing provision requiring office to issue a decision not later than 60 days after date of public hearing with provision requiring office to issue a decision not later than 60 days after date the office closes the public hearing record; P.A. 14-168 amended Subsec. (d) by adding provision re review period for transfer of a group practice and amended Subsec. (e) by adding provisions re application involving transfer of ownership of a group practice, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 15-146 amended Subsec. (c) by designating existing provisions re notice of application and request for information as Subdiv. (1) and amending same by adding provisions re application involving transfer of ownership of a hospital, designating existing provisions re submission of requested information as Subdiv. (2) and amending same by adding reference to information required and making technical changes, amended Subsecs. (d) and (e) by replacing “group practice” with “large group practice”, amended Subsec. (f) by adding Subdiv. (1) re public hearing for application involving transfer of ownership of a hospital and designating existing provisions re public hearing as Subdiv. (2), amended Subsec. (g) by replacing reference to Connecticut Law Journal with reference to department’s Internet web site and the eRegulations System and deleting provision re date for adoption of final regulations, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 15-242 amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) by adding “Internet” re web site and making a technical change.