§ 4004 — Establishment of hospices

§ 4004. Establishment of hospices. 1. The commissioner shall not\nissue a certificate of approval to any hospice except with the written\napproval of the public health and health planning council. However, a\nhospice demonstration program participant making application to the\ncommissioner solely to establish a hospice shall be deemed to have met\nsuch requirement.\n 2. An application for approval of the proposed hospice shall be filed\nwith the public health and health planning council together with such\nother forms and information as shall be prescribed by, or acceptable to,\nthe public health and health planning council. Thereafter, the public\nhealth and health planning council shall forward a copy of the proposed\napplication for establishment and accompanying documents to the health\nsystems agency, if any, having geographical jurisdiction of the area\nwhere the services of the proposed hospice are to be offered. The public\nhealth and health planning council shall act upon such application after\nthe health systems agency has had a reasonable time to submit its\nrecommendations. At the time members of the public health and health\nplanning council are notified that an application is scheduled for\nconsideration, the applicant and the health systems agency shall be so\nnotified in writing. The public health and health planning council shall\nnot take any action contrary to the advice of the health systems agency\nuntil it affords to the health system agency an opportunity to request a\npublic hearing and, if so requested, a public hearing shall be held. If\nthe public health and health planning council proposes to disapprove the\napplication, it shall afford the applicant an opportunity to request a\npublic hearing. The public health and health planning council may hold a\npublic hearing on the application on its own motion. Any public hearing\nheld pursuant to this subdivision may be conducted by the public health\nand health planning council or by any individual designated by the\npublic health and health planning council. The public health and health\nplanning council shall not approve an application for establishment\nunless it is satisfied, insofar as applicable, as to (a) the public need\nfor the existence of the hospice at the time and place and under the\ncircumstances proposed; (b) the character, competence, and standing in\nthe community, of the proposed incorporators, directors, sponsors,\nstockholders or operators; (c) the financial resources of the proposed\nhospice and its sources of future revenues; and (d) such other matters\nas it shall deem pertinent.\n 3. (a) No hospice shall be approved for establishment which would be\noperated by a corporation any of the stock of which is owned by another\ncorporation.\n (b) Any change in the person, principal stockholder or partnership\nwhich is the operator of a hospice shall be approved by the public\nhealth and health planning council in accordance with the provisions of\nsubdivisions one and two of this section.\n 4. (a) The public health and health planning council, by a majority\nvote of its members, shall adopt and amend rules and regulations, to\neffectuate the provisions and purposes of this section, and to provide\nfor the revocation, limitation or annulment of approvals of\nestablishment.\n (b) (i) No approval of establishment shall be revoked, limited or\nannulled without first offering the person who received such approval\nthe opportunity of requesting a public hearing, (ii) the commissioner,\nat the request of the public health and health planning council, shall\nfix a time and place for any such hearing requested, (iii) notice of the\ntime and place of the hearing shall be served in person or mailed by\nregistered mail to the person who has received establishment approval at\nleast twenty-one days before the date fixed for the hearing, (iv) such\nperson shall file with the department, not less than eight days prior to\nthe hearing, a written answer, (v) all orders or determinations\nhereunder shall be subject to review as provided in article\nseventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules. Application for such\nreview must be made within sixty days after service in person or by\nregistered mail of a copy of such order or determination.\n 5. (a) The commissioner shall charge to applicants for the\nestablishment of a hospice an application fee in the amount of two\nthousand dollars.\n (b) An applicant for both establishment and construction of a hospice\nshall not be subject to this subdivision and shall be subject to fees\nand charges as set forth in section four thousand six of this article.\n (c) All fees pursuant to this section shall be payable to the\ndepartment of health for deposit into the special revenue funds - other,\nmiscellaneous special revenue fund - 339, certificate of need account.\n