2006 Ohio Revised Code - 3702.52. Director to administer certificate of need program; fund; public hearings.

§ 3702.52. Director to administer certificate of need program; fund; public hearings.
 

The director of health shall administer a state certificate of need program in accordance with sections 3702.51 to 3702.62 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under those sections. 

(A) The director shall issue rulings on whether a particular proposed project is a reviewable activity. The director shall issue a ruling not later than forty-five days after receiving a request for a ruling accompanied by the information needed to make the ruling. If the director does not issue a ruling in that time, the project shall be considered to have been ruled not a reviewable activity. 

(B) The director shall review applications for certificates of need. Each application shall be submitted to the director on forms prescribed by the director, shall include all information required by rules adopted under division (B) of section 3702.57 of the Revised Code, and shall be accompanied by the application fee established in rules adopted under division (G) of that section. Application fees received by the director under this division shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the certificate of need fund, which is hereby created. The director shall use the fund only to pay the costs of administering sections 3702.51 to 3702.62 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under those sections. 

The director shall mail to the applicant a written notice that the application meets the criteria for a complete application specified in rules adopted under section 3702.57 of the Revised Code, or a written request for additional information, not later than fifteen days after receiving an application or a response to an earlier request for information. The director shall not make more than two requests for additional information. 

The director may conduct a public informational hearing in the course of reviewing any application for a certificate of need, and shall conduct one if requested to do so by any affected person not later than fifteen days after the director mails the notice that the application is complete. The hearing shall be conducted in the community in which the activities authorized by the certificate of need would be carried out. Any affected person may testify at the hearing. The director may, with the health service agency's consent, designate a health service agency to conduct the hearing. 

Except during a public hearing or as necessary to comply with a subpoena issued under division (F) of this section, after a notice of completeness has been received, no person shall knowingly discuss in person or by telephone the merits of the application with the director. If one or more persons request a meeting in person or by telephone, the director shall make a reasonable effort to invite interested parties to the meeting or conference call. 

(C) Divisions (C)(1) to (7) of this section apply to certificate of need applications for which the director had not issued a written decision prior to April 20, 1995, unless the director was required, under the version of this section in effect immediately prior to June 30, 1995, to grant a certificate of need prior to June 30, 1995, because of a lack of written objections from any affected person. Divisions (C)(1) to (7) of this section do not invalidate any certificate of need that the director was required to grant prior to June 30, 1995, under that circumstance. 

(1) The director shall grant a certificate of need for the entire project that is the subject of the application immediately after both of the following conditions are met: 

(a) The board of trustees of the health service agency of the health service area in which the reviewable activity is proposed to be conducted recommends, prior to the deadline specified in division (C)(4) of this section or any extension of it under division (C)(5) of this section, that the certificate of need be granted; 

(b) The director receives no written objections to the application from any affected person by the later of May 20, 1995, or thirty days after the director mails the notice of completeness. 

(2) In the case of applications under comparative review, the director shall grant certificates of need for the entire projects that are the subject of the applications immediately after both of the following conditions are met: 

(a) The board of trustees of the health service agency of each health service area in which the reviewable activities are proposed to be conducted recommends, prior to the deadline specified in division (C)(4) of this section or any extension of it under division (C)(5) of this section, that certificates of need be granted for each of the reviewable activities to be conducted in its health service area; 

(b) The director receives no written objections to any of the applications from any affected person by the later of May 20, 1995, or thirty days after the director mails the last notice of completeness. 

The director's grant of a certificate of need under division (C)(1) or (2) of this section does not affect, and sets no precedent for, the director's decision to grant or deny other applications for similar reviewable activities proposed to be conducted in the same or different health service areas. 

(3) If the director receives written objections to an application from any affected person by the later of May 20, 1995, or thirty days after mailing the notice of completeness, regardless of the health service agency's recommendation, the director shall notify the applicant and assign a hearing examiner to conduct an adjudication hearing concerning the application in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. In the case of applications under comparative review, if the director receives written objections to any of the applications from any affected person by the later of May 20, 1995, or thirty days after the director mails the last notice of completeness, regardless of the health service agencies' recommendation, the director shall notify all of the applicants and appoint a hearing examiner to conduct a consolidated adjudication hearing concerning the applications in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The hearing examiner shall be employed by or under contract with the department of health. 

The adjudication hearings may be conducted in the health service area in which the reviewable activity is proposed to be conducted. Consolidated adjudication hearings for applications in comparative review may be conducted in the geographic region in which all of the reviewable activities will be conducted. The applicant, the director, and the affected persons that filed objections to the application shall be parties to the hearing. If none of the affected persons that submitted written objections to the application appears or prosecutes the hearing, the hearing examiner shall dismiss the hearing and the director shall grant a certificate of need for the entire project that is the subject of the application. The affected persons bear the burden of proving by a preponderance of evidence that the project is not needed or that granting the certificate would not be in accordance with sections 3702.51 to 3702.62 of the Revised Code or the rules adopted under section 3702.57 of the Revised Code. 

(4) Except as provided in divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section, the director shall grant or deny certificate of need applications for which an adjudication hearing is not conducted under division (C)(3) of this section not later than ninety days after mailing the notice of completeness or, in the case of an application proposing addition of long-term care beds, not later than ninety days after such other time as is specified in rules adopted under section 3702.57 of the Revised Code. The director shall grant or deny certificate of need applications for which an adjudication hearing is conducted under division (C)(3) of this section not later than thirty days after the expiration of the time for filing objections to the report and recommendation of the hearing examiner under section 119.09 of the Revised Code. The director shall base decisions concerning applications for which an adjudication hearing is conducted under division (C)(3) of this section on the report and recommendations of the hearing examiner. 

(5) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(1), (2), or (6) of this section, the director or the applicant may extend the deadline prescribed in division (C)(4) of this section once, for no longer than thirty days, by written notice before the end of the original thirty-day period. An extension by the director under division (C)(5) of this section shall apply to all applications that are in comparative review. 

(6) No applicant in a comparative review may extend the deadline specified in division (C)(4) of this section. 

(7) Except as provided in divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section, the director may grant a certificate of need for all or part of the project that is the subject of an application. If the director does not grant or deny the certificate by the applicable deadline specified in division (C)(4) of this section or any extension of it under division (C)(5) of this section, the certificate shall be considered to have been granted. The director, in reviewing certificate of need applications for solid organ transplantation services, may ask for assistance from a statewide transplantation advisory group consisting of qualified professionals and administrators. Such consultation shall not cause the review period for any application to be extended beyond the applicable deadline specified in division (C)(4) of this section or any extension of it under division (C)(5) of this section. 

(D) In granting a certificate of need, the director shall specify as the maximum capital expenditure the certificate holder may obligate under the certificate a figure equal to one hundred ten per cent of the approved project cost. 

(E) The director shall monitor the activities of persons granted certificates of need concerning long-term care beds during the period beginning with the granting of the certificate of need and ending five years after implementation of the activity for which the certificate was granted. 

In the case of any other certificate of need, the director shall monitor the activities of persons granted certificates of need during the period beginning with the granting of the certificate of need and ending when the activity for which the certificate was granted ceases to be a reviewable activity in accordance with section 3702.511 [3702.51.1] of the Revised Code. 

(F) When reviewing applications for certificates of need or monitoring activities of persons granted certificates of need, the director may issue and enforce, in the manner provided in section 119.09 of the Revised Code, subpoenas duces tecum to compel the production of documents relevant to review of the application or monitoring of the activities. In addition, the director or the director's designee, which may include a health service agency, may visit the sites where the activities are or will be conducted. 

(G) The director may withdraw certificates of need. 

(H) The director shall conduct, on a regular basis, health system data collection and analysis activities and prepare reports. The director shall make recommendations based upon these activities to the public health council concerning the adoption of appropriate rules under section 3702.57 of the Revised Code. All health care facilities and other health care providers shall submit to the director, upon request, any information that is necessary to conduct reviews of certificate of need applications and to develop recommendations for criteria for reviews, and that is prescribed by rules adopted under division (H) of section 3702.57 of the Revised Code. 

(I) Any decision to grant or deny a certificate of need shall consider the special needs and circumstances resulting from moral and ethical values and the free exercise of religious rights of health care facilities administered by religious organizations, and the special needs and circumstances of children's hospitals, inner city hospitals, and small rural hospitals. 
 

HISTORY: RC § 3702.53, 137 v S 349 (Eff 3-15-79); 139 v H 694 (Eff 11-15-81); 139 v H 469 (Eff 10-6-82); 140 v S 160 (Eff 10-5-83); 140 v S 386, § 1 (Eff 7-2-84); 140 v S 386, § 4 (Eff 7-1-86); 141 v S 62, § 1 (Eff 6-6-85); 141 v S 62, § 3 (Eff 7-1-86); 141 v H 428 (Eff 12-23-86); 142 v H 499 (Eff 6-30-87); 143 v H 332 (Eff 8-5-89); RC § 3702.52, 144 v S 233 (Eff 11-15-91); 146 v S 50 (Eff 4-20-95); 146 v S 156 (Eff 6-30-95); 148 v H 283. Eff 6-30-99.
 

The effective date is set by section 164 of HB 283.