Section 325.9201. Letters of intent; applications; forms; copies; attachments and supplements; content; completeness; additional information; department's authority to consider relevant information not limited; notification of information considered relevant; public availability.

(1) Before applying for a certificate of need for a project, except for projects that are covered by section 22235 of the code, a person shall submit a letter of intent simultaneously to the department and the appropriate regional certificate of need

review agency. The letter of intent shall be on a form supplied by the department. Within 15 days of receipt of a letter of intent, the department shall notify the person proposing the project whether the project requires a certificate of need and, if so, the type of review (nonsubstantive, substantive, potential comparative) and provide the applicant with appropriate forms. The department may decline to process a letter of intent if the same covered service or beds already exists at that site under a different entity that has submitted a letter of intent or application or has previous certificate of need approval before the new letter of intent, or would otherwise result in a conflicting or duplicative CON review. The department shall not review any application it receives before the department finishes processing the letter of intent for that application. A letter of intent expires if an application has not been submitted to the department within 1 year of receipt of the letter of intent by the department. The department shall provide the applicant with a copy of the current work plan of the certificate of need commission indicating the timing by which the certificate of need review standards are being revised or are scheduled to be revised by the commission.

(2)   At the time of submission of an application, a person applying for a certificate of need shall simultaneously submit 3 copies of an application, or 3 copies of any supplemental documents for an electronic application, for a single project to the department and, if applicable, 1 additional copy to the appropriate regional certificate of need review agency. The application shall be made on the application forms authorized and provided by the department. The application forms may include requirements for attachments and supplements specified by the department in the forms. An application shall clearly state the persons, buildings and properties to which it applies and clearly define the scope, nature, cost, time limits, and other aspects of the proposal. A letter of intent, application, or an amendment to an approved certificate of need shall be accompanied by the fee, if any, required by law and these rules. A letter of intent or an amendment not accompanied by the required fee if any, will not be processed until the bureau receives the required fee, if any. An application not accompanied by the required fee will not be considered timely and will be deemed submitted on the next designated application date after receipt of the required fee. An application received, including electronic submissions, that does not include statements addressing each of the review criteria listed in section 22225 of the code is not timely and will be deemed submitted on the next designated application date after receipt of the required documents. Statements addressing section 22225 are not required for proposed projects eligible for nonsubstantive reviews under R 325.9205.

(3)   The department shall consider only those applications that it deems submitted on or before the designated application date and shall determine if the application is complete. The department may request additional information and provide notification of a determination to the applicant and the appropriate regional certificate of need review agency within 15 days of receipt of the application. The applicant has 15 days from receipt of the department's notice to respond to the request to the department’s satisfaction. If the department does not request additional information the department shall consider the application to be complete as submitted by the applicant on the designated application date. If additional information is requested for applications subject to nonsubstantive or substantive review, the department shall consider the application to be  complete  on  the  next  designated  application  date  with  or  without  the  additional

information. If additional information is requested for applications subject  to comparative review, the department shall consider the application to be complete on the first department working day of the next month, with or without the additional information.

(4)    This rule does not limit the department's authority to consider all available information relevant to the department's review of an application.

(5)    An applicant may request, and the department may allow, the submission of information after the date the application is deemed complete if the application is not subject to comparative review. When a request under this subrule is made, the department may require that the applicant authorizes an extension to the date a decision must be issued if the department determines that an extension is necessary to perform its review.

(6)   The department's review shall be conducted using the completed application and any other information the department considers relevant to the decision and under all applicable provisions in the certificate of need review standards and the code, including information which becomes available or developments which occur after the date an application is deemed complete.

(7)    Before issuing a proposed decision, the bureau shall notify an applicant of all information that the department relied upon in conducting the department's review. If the department relies on information other than submitted by the applicant in its application, the bureau or department shall cite in the proposed or final decision letter, as applicable, the information it relied upon. The department shall make this information available to the public upon request.

(8)    The department’s decision to request additional information is not subject to administrative hearing or appeal.

History: 1986 AACS; 1996 AACS; 2014 AACS.