A.
After notice and opportunity to be heard is given
according to the procedures in A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6, Article 10, a
certificate of necessity may be suspended, revoked, or other disciplinary
action taken for the following reasons:
1. The certificate holder
has:
a. Demonstrated substandard
performance; or
b. Been determined not to be fit
and proper by the Director;
2. The certificate holder has
provided false information or documents:
a. On an application for a
certificate of necessity;
b. Regarding any matter relating
to it's ground ambulance vehicles or ground ambulance service;
or
c. To a patient, third-party
payor, or other person billed for service; or
3. The certificate holder has
failed to:
a. Comply with the applicable
requirements of A.R.S. Title 36, Chapter 21.1, Articles 1 and 2 or 9 A.A.C. 25;
or
b. Comply with any term of its
certificate of necessity or any rates and charges schedule filed by the
certificate holder and approved by the Department.
A. The Department may take an action listed
in subsection (B) against a ground ambulance service that:
1. Fails or has failed to comply with any
provision in A.R.S. Title 36, Chapter 21.1;
2. Fails or has failed to comply with any
provision in this Article or Article 2, 10, or 11 of this Chapter;
4. Does not complete a
corrective action plan submitted according to
R9-25-903(A)(8) or
R9-25-910(E)(2); or
5. Knowingly or
negligently provides false documentation or false or misleading information to
the Department or to a patient, third-party payor, or other person billed for
service.
B. The
Department may take the following actions against a ground ambulance service:
1. Except as provided in subsection (B)(3),
after notice and an opportunity to be heard is provided under A.R.S. Title 41,
Chapter 6, Article 10, suspend:
a. The ground
ambulance service's certificate of necessity, or
b. The certificate of registration of a
ground ambulance vehicle operated by the ground ambulance service;
2. After notice and an opportunity
to be heard is provided under A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6, Article 10, revoke:
a. The ground ambulance service's certificate
of necessity, or
b. The certificate
of registration of a ground ambulance vehicle operated by the ground ambulance
service;
3. As permitted
under A.R.S. §§
36-2234(N) and
41-1092.11(B), if
the Department determines that the public health, safety, or welfare
imperatively requires emergency action and incorporates a finding to that
effect in the Department's order, immediately suspend:
a. The ground ambulance service's certificate
of necessity pending proceedings for revocation or other action, or
b. The certificate of registration of a
ground ambulance vehicle operated by the ground ambulance service pending
proceedings for revocation or other action; or
4. Another enforcement action according to
A.R.S. §
36-2245(I), (J), or (K).
B.C. In determining
the type of enforcement action to impose under A.R.S. §
36-2245, the Director shall
consider:
1. The severity of the violation
relative to public health and safety;
2. The number of violations relative to the
annual transport volume of the certificate holder;
3. The nature and circumstances of the
violation;
4. Whether the violation
was corrected, the manner of correction, and the time-frame involved;
5. The duration of each violation;
6. The frequency and nature of complaints
received by the Department about a certificate holder; and
5.7. The
impact of the penalty or assessment on the provision of ambulance response or
transport in the certificate holder's service area.
